The concert was announced Friday by promoters Baltic Live Agency and NTR Team, who said the American band would perform May 31 on the open-air stage of the new Unibet Arena quarter.

The Foreign Ministry, however, said supporters of the aggressor state are not welcome in Estonia.

"Estonia supports Ukraine's territorial integrity and the principle that every last centimeter of Ukrainian territory belongs to Ukraine," ministry media adviser Brita Kikkas told ERR News. She added that those backing an aggressor state likewise don't belong "in Estonia or in the Estonian cultural space."

Foreign Minister Tsahkna: Those who justify Russia's aggression should not be earning revenue in Estonia

Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) said that the situation was clear: Those who justify Russia's invasion of Ukraine have no place on the stage in Estonia.

"My position is clear, and I will repeat it: Russia is the aggressor, and Crimea is occupied by Russia. Those who justify Russia's aggression and the occupation of a neighboring country are not welcome in Estonia. They have no place on Estonian stages and should not be earning income here," Tsahkna said in an official statement.

"Concert and cultural event organizers must also understand this. This has been Estonia's clear stance, and this principle has been followed for several years already. I hope that concert organizers will act accordingly now as well," Tsahkna added.

The Ministry of Culture said it had contacted the contact organizers about the event. Spokesperson Liisi Rohtung told Kroonika (link in Estonian) that the show should not go forward.

"It is unacceptable for people to perform in Estonia who support a state whose president is the subject of an international arrest warrant," she said.

Organizer: Durst was married to a Russian Crimean woman

In response, concert organizer Baltic Live Agency (BLA) said it was aware of lead singer Fred Durst's appearance with a flag declaring "CRIMEA = RUSSIA" in Russian and condemned the spread of such false claims.

"The only way we can explain it is that at the time (until 2019), Fred Durst was married to a Russian Crimean woman and evidently living in a distorted information bubble," BLA media director Gunnar Viese told ERR.

Viese added that, to their knowledge, Durst has not made any statements glorifying Russia or justifying its war of aggression since 2022. He said the artist's occasional posts addressing Russian fans were seen as part of normal communication with an international audience.

When the band's Tallinn show was agreed on, BLA's understanding was that neither the band nor Durst had made further political statements since 2015.

Shows in other supportive countries

Viese also pointed out that in recent years, Limp Bizkit has performed in several countries strongly supportive of both Estonia and Ukraine — including Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, the U.K., Ireland, Poland and France.

In 2016, the band is scheduled to play dates and headline festivals in Poland, Germany, the U.K., Belgium, Norway and Spain, with many of the events organized by Live Nation.

"Estonia's cultural, musical and values space is very similar to that of our key European allies and strong supporters of Ukraine," Viese said. "None of them have seen any ethical issue in Limp Bizkit's shows in 2022, 2023, 2024 or 2025, or the already announced 2026 shows."

The media director noted that in those years, neither Limp Bizkit nor Fred Durst has made any political statements supporting Russia or commenting on the war in Ukraine before, during or after those concerts.

It is based on these considerations, he said, that organizers decided to announce the band's May 31 show in Tallinn.

Viese also noted that co-organizer NTR Team is a Ukrainian company led by Oleksandr Poriadchenko, whom he described as a "huge Ukrainian supporter and patriot." NTR Team is acting as an equal partner in the Tallinn show, contributing both investment and labor to the event.

The entire Baltic Live Agency team wholeheartedly supports Ukraine, the company said in its statement.

"The war that began in Ukraine in February 2022 is an unambiguous act of Russian aggression against a sovereign Ukraine, which we condemn," BLA said. "As concert organizers, we have refused to work with any artists who have performed in Russia or Belarus since the war began, or whose future dates there we know of."

Putin 'a great guy'

Founded in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1994, Limp Bizkit became one of the most recognizable names in alternative metal in the early 2000s.

Lead singer Fred Durst was married for several years to Crimean-born Russian makeup artist Kseniya Beryazina. After Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, Durst praised Russian regime leader Vladimir Putin as "a great guy with clear moral principles and a nice person" and expressed interest in buying a house in Crimea.

Ukraine banned Limp Bizkit from performing there in 2015, following Durst's remarks and his display of the "CRIMEA = RUSSIA" flag.

In 2024, Durst wrote on popular Russian social media platform VKontakte that he missed his Russian fans and hoped to see them soon, Kroonika reports.

Limp Bizkit last performed in Lithuania in 2020. Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT reported that about 2,500 people attended the concert at a 20,000-seat stadium. Latvian organizers told Lithuanian media at the time that they were aware of Durst's past comments but said he had not made similar statements since 2015.

A week later, the band played a sold-out show in Latvia.

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