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SvennoJ on 28 June 2025
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Support for Palestine under scrutiny at UK’s Glastonbury Festival

There were instances of pro-Palestine chants and slogans at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK – but not without controversy.

Rapper Bobby Vylan, of rap punk duo Bob Vylan, led crowds in chants of: “Free, free Palestine” and: “Death, death to the [Israeli army]”.

Vylan’s chants caused a stir and authorities are saying they will investigate whether any offences may have been committed.

UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy spoke to the BBC director general about Bob Vylan’s performance, a government spokesperson said.

They added, “We strongly condemn the threatening comments made by Bob Vylan at Glastonbury.”

A BBC spokesperson called some of the comments “deeply offensive”.

Northern Irish band Nikaab also performed at the festival, accusing Israel of war crimes, while Palestinian flags were waved among the audience.

Meanwhile, Kneecap, who hail from Belfast, have been in the headlines after member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence after allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a London gig.

In reference to his bandmate’s upcoming court date, Naoise O Caireallain, who performs under the name Moglai Bap, said they would “start a riot outside the courts”, before clarifying: “No riots, just love and support for Palestine”.




Huge support for Palestine Action at Glastonbury


Activists from Palestine Action got a great reception on Thursday night at Glastonbury as they addressed the crowd on the Shangri La stage, showing the huge support the group have around the festival. The group have been declared a "terrorist organisation" by the government - which means that anyone who is a member of Palestine Action, or even shows support for them, could face up to 14 years in prison.

Judging by the amount of people who have already signed up to join Palestine Action at the festival, this appalling attack on our right to protest could seriously backfire. You can join too at https://palestineaction.org/join.

Activists also drew attention to the fact that Glastonbury is insured by Allianz, a company that also insures Elbit Systems - who supply weapons used in the Gaza genocide - invests in Serco, the leading abuser of migrants in the UK, and is the world's sixth largest insurer of fossil fuel companies. There is now a rapidly growing campaign calling on Glastonbury to boycott Allianz - you can sign the open letter at https://boycottbloodyinsurance.org.