British police say they are reviewing comments made on stage by rap punk duo Bob Vylan and hip hop trio Kneecap at this year\u2019s Glastonbury Festival. <\/p>\n
Rapper Bobby Vylan took to the festival\u2019s third-biggest West Holts Stage on Saturday shouting \u201cFree, free Palestine,\u201d before leading crowds to chants against the Israeli military. <\/p>\n
Video showed the rapper shouting into the mic, \u201cAlright, but have you heard this one though? Death, death to the IDF (Israel Defense Forces).\u201d <\/p>\n
The artist also performed in front of a screen that displayed a message which read: \u201cUnited Nations have called it a genocide. The BBC calls it a \u2018conflict,\u2019\u201d referring to the UK\u2019s public broadcaster that has been showing the festival live. <\/p>\n
The Israeli Embassy in the UK said it was \u201cdeeply disturbed\u201d by what it called \u201cinflammatory and hateful\u201d rhetoric at the festival. <\/p>\n
It said that when chants such as \u201cDeath to the IDF\u201d are said in front of tens of thousands of festivalgoers, \u201cit raises serious concerns about the normalisation of extremist language and the glorification of violence.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWe call on Glastonbury Festival organisers, artists, and public leaders in the UK to denounce this rhetoric and reject of all forms of hatred,\u201d it added. <\/p>\n
Glastonbury Festival said in a statement that was \u201cappalled\u201d by Vylan\u2019s remarks. <\/p>\n
\u201cTheir chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence,\u201d organizers said. <\/p>\n
Ahead of the five-day music festival, all eyes were on Irish-language hip hop trio Kneecap after band member Liam O\u2019Hanna \u2013 who performs under the state name Mo Chara \u2013 was charged last month with a terrorism offense following an investigation by London\u2019s Metropolitan Police. <\/p>\n
The charge, which he has denied, relates to a London gig in November 2024 where he allegedly displayed a flag of Hezbollah \u2013 a proscribed terrorist organization banned under UK law. Ahead of the festival at Worthy Farm, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he did not think it was \u201cnot appropriate\u201d for the group to perform. <\/p>\n
Kneecap have been vocal critics of Israel\u2019s war in Gaza but have previously said it has never supported Hamas or Hezbollah. <\/p>\n
During the set, Mo Chara told the crowds that recent events had been \u201cstressful\u201d but that it was nothing in comparison to \u201cwhat the Palestinian people are going through.\u201d <\/p>\n
Kneecap rapper Naoise O Caireallain, who goes by the stage name M\u00f3gla\u00ed Bap, hit back at Starmer\u2019s comment during Saturday\u2019s set: \u201cThe Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn\u2019t want us to play, so f**k Keir Starmer.\u201d <\/p>\n
In reference to his bandmate\u2019s forthcoming court date, O Caireallain also said they would \u201cstart a riot outside the courts,\u201d before adding: \u201cI don\u2019t want anybody to start a riot. No riots just love and support, and more importantly support for Palestine.\u201d <\/p>\n
Police in Somerset, where the festival is held, said the force was \u201caware of the comments made by acts\u201d and that \u201cvideo evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.\u201d <\/p>\n
UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting slammed the performance as \u201cappalling\u201d in an interview with Sky News on Sunday morning. <\/p>\n
He said that the BBC, which broadcast the set live, and Glastonbury \u201chave got questions to answer.\u201d <\/p>\n
A BBC spokesperson said that some of the comments made during Vylan\u2019s performance were \u201cdeeply offensive,\u201d and added it had no plans to make the performance available on demand through its iPlayer streaming platform. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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