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Black magic not allowed

August 18, 2014

The world's most pierced man has been denied entry into the Gulf's most liberal city. The 55-year-old IT specialist from Dortmund, Germany, had planned to perform in Dubai.

https://p.dw.com/p/1CwRW
Rolf Buchholz aus Dortmund
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

The world's most pierced man was sent away from Dubai, banned from entering.

Rolf Buchholz had been traveling to Dubai to participate at a "Cirque de Soir," a circus-themed event at the Fairmont Hotel in what is known to be the region's most liberal city.

Buchholz has more than 100 piercings in his face and many tattoos covering his body, but the refusal might be because the horn-shaped implants on his head gave customs inspectors the wrong impression:

Dubai has invested a lot to attract foreigners, who make up the majority of the population, trying to show a liberal face to the world. Foreigners, for example, have no trouble buying and consuming alcohol at hotel bars. However, cultures have also clashed in a number of situations, with fines or even jail time being handed down to people for public displays of affection, intoxication and disrespect for religion.

With 453 piercings in total, Buchholz received an entry in Guinness World Records in 2012. He said it was a shame he could not enter Dubai, but that he would go back if the government reconsidered, the news agency Associated Press reported.

sb/mkg (AP, AFP)