After the Association for Science and Public Education, Vof, became aware of a statement from a band member in 2016 concerning the Russian annexation of Crimea, the board called a meeting to take a position on the new information.
Sabaton's bassist Pär Sundström expressed in an interview with Sweden Rock Magazine in 2016 that he believed that Crimea was occupied before 2014. This after the band performed a criticized gig on the Crimean Peninsula.
- If you go to Sevastopol, you hardly feel that they feel occupied, but the opposite, said Pär Sundström, bassist in Sabaton, to the newspaper at the time.
"Googled like crazy"
In connection with the appointment, a discussion arose as to whether the band would be allowed to keep the award.
On Monday, Vetenskap og folkbildning announced that Sabaton will receive the award despite the criticized statement, as the band is considered to have distanced itself from the war and participated in a demonstration that took place in England against the Russian invasion in March last year.
- This quote was something we had not found.
We had been very thorough and of course googled like crazy.
So it was good of someone to find it, but the first thing that comes up when you google "Sabaton, Ukraine and war" is that they distance themselves from the war and then carried out this demonstration, says Dan Katz, board member of Science and Public Education .
The cultural news is looking for Sabaton.