Overview
- Festival organizers announced on Saturday that they had cancelled the June 7 discussion with Peter Thiel after a growing number of artists and participants withdrew and organizers said those absences weakened the programme to an unmanageable degree.
- Intendant Milo Rau had defended the invitation as a legitimate forum but said he reversed course out of responsibility for the wider festival and respect for the artistic programme after internal debate and public protest.
- Multiple outlets report that Thiel has materially advanced a personal 'Plan B' in Buenos Aires, including buying a villa, enrolling his children in a local school and meeting privately with President Javier Milei, though Thiel has not publicly confirmed these details.
- Reporters link Thiel’s reported moves to concerns about taxes in the United States, rising political uncertainty and broader existential risks such as nuclear escalation or runaway AI, placing his actions in a wider trend of wealthy people diversifying residences and citizenships.
- The episode has sharpened a European debate about platforming controversial figures, prompted artist withdrawals that disrupted programming, and exposed sharp differences in media and cultural opinion over whether engagement or exclusion better serves public institutions.