{"id":169980,"date":"2025-06-29T12:06:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T16:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2025\/06\/29\/bob-vylan-death-to-the-idf-chants-leave-glastonbury-appalled-festival-says-they-crossed-a-line\/"},"modified":"2025-06-29T12:06:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T16:06:00","slug":"bob-vylan-death-to-the-idf-chants-leave-glastonbury-appalled-festival-says-they-crossed-a-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2025\/06\/29\/bob-vylan-death-to-the-idf-chants-leave-glastonbury-appalled-festival-says-they-crossed-a-line\/","title":{"rendered":"Bob Vylan \u2018Death to the IDF\u2019 Chants Leave Glastonbury \u2018Appalled,\u2019 Festival Says They \u2018Crossed a\u00a0Line\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\tGlastonbury<\/a> Festival has issued a statement saying that one of the performing acts \u201ccrossed a line\u201d during their set by leading anti-IDF chants.<\/p>\n

\n\tPunk duo Bob Vylan<\/a> appeared on Saturday (June 28) before Kneecap<\/a> on the West Holts stage. During their set, they instigated chants of \u201cFree Palestine\u201d and \u201cDeath to the IDF,\u201d in reference to the Israel Defense Forces, and displayed messages criticising the BBC, the festival\u2019s official media partner.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Kneecap<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tKneecap Play Fiery Glastonbury Set, Take Aim at U.K. Prime Minister: \u2018F\u2014 Keir\u00a0Starmer\u2026\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\tIn the week leading up to the festival, campaigners had called<\/a> for Kneecap\u2019s set to be canceled, owing to the terror offense MC Mo Chara was recently charged with. A number of acts threw their weight behind the group leading up the festival, including Fontaines D.C. and Massive Attack.<\/p>\n

\n\tKneecap\u2019s set was not televised on the iPlayer stream, but Bob Vylan\u2019s performance was broadcast live. The BBC reports that Somerset and Avon Police are assessing the chants by Vylan. A BBC <\/em>spokesperson told The Independent<\/a><\/em> that \u201csome of the comments made during Bob Vylan\u2019s set were deeply offensive. During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language. We have no plans to make the performance available on demand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe festival has also shared an official response to the chants led by Vylan, saying it is \u201cappalled\u201d by his comments.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cGlastonbury Festival was created in 1970 as a place for people to come together and rejoice in music, the arts and the best of human endeavour. As a festival, we stand against all forms of war and terrorism. We will always believe in \u2013 and actively campaign for \u2013 hope, unity, peace and love,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWith almost 4,000 performances at Glastonbury 2025, there will inevitably be artists and speakers appearing on our stages whose views we do not share, and a performer\u2019s presence here should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHowever, we are appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan yesterday. Their 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<\/p>\n

\n\tWes Streeting, the government\u2019s health secretary, said that the \u201cBBC and Glastonbury have got questions to answer about how we saw such a spectacle on our screens,\u201d he told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips<\/em> on Sky News<\/em>. \u201cBut I also think it\u2019s a pretty shameless publicity stunt, which I don\u2019t really want to give too much indulgence to for that reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDuring Kneecap\u2019s set<\/a>, the trio led a \u201cF\u2014 Keir Starmer chant,\u201d after the U.K. prime minister said it was \u201cnot appropriate\u201d to be playing the festival amidst Mo Chara\u2019s ongoing terror case. Read the full report from the show here<\/a>. The festival concludes Sunday evening (June 29) with a headline set from Olivia Rodrigo.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Glastonbury Festival (@glastofest)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n