Irish hip-hop group Kneecap performed to an enormous crowd at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday regardless of criticism by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and strain from some within the music trade to tug the gig.
Frontman Liam O’Hanna, whose stage title is Mo Chara, was charged with a terrorism offence final month for allegedly displaying a flag in assist of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a live performance in November. He denied the cost.
Starmer informed the Sun newspaper this month it was “not appropriate” for Kneecap, who rap in Irish and English, to look at Glastonbury.
With the out of doors area at full capability and scores of Palestinian flags waving within the blazing solar, the Northern Irish trio took to the West Holts stage on the pageant in southwest England on Saturday.
Festival-goer Greg Robertson, 30, mentioned: “I don’t think politicians should really have too much of an impact on a weekend where everyone’s trying to have fun and trying to maybe create a more optimistic future.”
Sara Majid, 29, mentioned she preferred what Kneecap stood for.
“I’m intrigued by them,” she mentioned.
Opposition chief Kemi Badenoch had mentioned the BBC, which broadcasts the pageant, shouldn’t present Kneecap, and 30 music trade bosses requested organisers to tug the band from the line-up, in keeping with a letter leaked by DJ Toddla T, cited by the Guardian newspaper.
In response, greater than 100 musicians have signed a public letter in assist of the group.
Kneecap’s supervisor, Dan Lambert, mentioned the group had anticipated requires the efficiency to be cancelled.
“We knew that the biggest pressure would come on Glastonbury because Glastonbury’s an institution,” he informed Reuters, including that it had not been a difficulty for organisers.
“We didn’t bring it up and they didn’t bring it up,” he mentioned. “They treated us professionally.”
Organiser Emily Eavis mentioned on Wednesday the pageant was a platform for artists from all around the world, including that “everyone is welcome here”.
The footage of O’Hanna displaying the flag got here to gentle after the trio projected pro-Palestinian messages on stage on the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California in April, ending with: “F… Israel. Free Palestine.”
Kneecap, whose different members have the stage names Móglaà Bap and DJ PróvaÃ, have mentioned they don’t assist Hamas or Hezbollah.
O’Hanna mentioned on Friday the group have been “playing characters” on stage, and it was as much as the viewers to interpret their messages.
© Thomson Reuters 2025.