Calls for Kneecap to be ditched from Glastonbury grow as SNP chief suggests group could be axed from TRNSMT in Glasgow
The calls for Kneecap to be ditched from the Glastonbury lineup for 2025 have increased, with Jim Allister MP adding his voice to those urging the organisers to think again.
It comes after Labour MP David Taylor made a similar call on Monday.
It also comes after two German festivals – Hurricane and Southside – dropped the group from the bill amid multiple controversies engulfing them (see here).
There have been questions raised about the group's pending July 4 appearance at the Eden Project in Cornwall, with the website Cornwall Live reporting that “a number of complaints” have been received by organisers. It quoted a spokesperson for the Eden Project saying: "We are taking this issue very seriously and discussing it internally."
In addition, figures from the DUP, UUP, and TUV have all come out and voiced objections to a pending gig at the council-run Boucher Road Playing Fields in south Belfast on Friday, August 29.
SNP leader John Swinney was asked about the group’s upcoming appearance at TRANSMT festival in Glasgow (running from July 11 to 13 July) in light of their “kill your MP” comments.
He has been quoted as saying in reply: “I’m not familiar with the band Kneecap, but I’ve become aware of their comments today.
“I think these comments are completely and utterly unacceptable and if they’re performing at TRNSMT, or proposed to be performing at TRNSMT, I think the organisers of TRNSMT have got to consider that issue.”
But the question of whether the group will play Glastonbury, the UK’s biggest music festival with upwards of 200,000 attendees, is what will draw much of the focus. Kneecap are scheduled to appear on Saturday, June 28.
Labour MP Mr Taylor had written to oranisers, saying axing them from the bill would “send a clear message that Glastonbury stands firmly against violence, terrorism, and political extremism in all its forms”.
Now TUV MP Jim Allister has done likewise, saying: “That Glastonbury would offer a platform to a group which glorifies terrorism, advocates the murder of elected representatives, and engages in inflammatory rhetoric against the State of Israel is nothing short of a disgrace.
"It stands wholly at odds with the values of tolerance, peace, and inclusivity which your Festival claims to promote.
“It is wholly unacceptable for a mainstream, UK-wide cultural event to be seen to endorse – even by implication – messages of political violence and terror glorification.
“Accordingly, I call upon you to immediately rescind the invitation to Kneecap to perform at this year’s Festival.
“To allow them to proceed would seriously damage the reputation of Glastonbury Festival and cast doubt on its commitment to basic democratic and moral principles.”
Kneecap have issued a statement – which you can read in full here – denying that they support Hamas and Hezbollah or that they are inciting violence against MPs.