Photo Credit: IthakaDarinPappas / CC by 4.0
The Glastonbury 2025 music festival became a flashpoint for controversy when performances by British punk duo Bob Vylan and Irish-language rap Group Kneecap led to accusations of hate speech. The show received a swift response from festival organizers and an investigation by British police is ongoing.
On Saturday, June 28, Bob Vylan took to the West Holts stage and led the audience in several politically charged chants. According to multiple reports, Bobby Vylan, the group’s vocalist, incited the crowd to chant: “death, death to the IDF.” and “free, free Palestine.” The duo also invoked the controversial slogan, “the river to the see, Palestine, must, will be free.”
The BBC broadcast the event live and called the comments ‘deeply offensive’ and displayed a warning about “very strong and discriminatory language” on the screen. Because of the hateful chant, the BBC confirmed the performance would not be available for on-demand viewing.
“Their chants clearly crossed a boundary, and we are urgently reminding all those involved in the festival’s production that antisemitism, hate speech, and incitement of violence have no place at Glastonbury,” said Glastonbury organizer Emily Eavis in a joint statement with other organizers.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also criticized the chants as “appalling hate speech” while Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy sought an explanation from the BBC regarding its due diligence prior to broadcast. Avon and Somerset Police announced they were reviewing video evidence to determine if any laws were broken.
Kneecap performed immediately after Bob Vylan and also led the crowd in chants including, “free, free Palestine,” “f*ck Keir Starmer,” and with rapper Mo Chara screaming “Israel are war criminals.” Kneecap’s performance was not broadcast live by the BBC due to their explosive controversial set at Coachella. Mo Chara is facing a terrorism charge for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a London concert last year—something he denies happened.
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