Glastonbury “appalled” by Bob Vylan “death to the IDF” chants that “very much crossed a line”
Glastonbury have released a statement on Bob Vylan‘s performance, saying they’re “appalled” by the group’s “death to IDF” chants.
The punk duo played the West Holts stage yesterday afternoon (June 28), ahead of Kneecap’s highly anticipated performance, which the BBC had confirmed earlier in the day would not be broadcast live.
During the set, frontman Bobby Vylan called for solidarity with bands that “use their platform to speak up for the Palestinian people”, namechecking Kneecap, The Murder Capital and Amyl & The Sniffers in particular.
He also said that he was aware that the performance was being streamed on the BBC and so he would not say anything “too extreme”, adding that he would “leave that to those lads”, referring to “their mates Kneecap”.
Throughout the performance, political slogans were projected onto the screen behind them, including “Free Palestine – United Nations have called it a genocide – the BBC calls it a ‘conflict’”.
After the crowd instigated a chant of “free, free Palestine”, which they did multiple times, Bobby said, “Have you heard this one?”, before leading a chant of “death, death to the IDF”, referring to the Israeli Defense Forces, which are involved in the ongoing war in Gaza.
Bobby also said: “We are not pacifist punks here over at Bob Vylan Enterprises,” referencing lyrics from their 2023 single ‘Censored (Interlude)’. “We are the violent punks, because sometimes you gotta get your message across with violence because that is the only language some people speak, unfortunately.”
Live on BBC: pic.twitter.com/ao8gMzzbii
— ashok | ಅಶೋಕ್
(@broseph_stalin) June 28, 2025
The chant has come under controversy, with Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy now ordering the BBC to explain why the set was streamed live.
Meanwhile, the Avon and Somerset Police have said they will be investigating the performance, as well as Kneecap’s set, to “determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.”
Now, Glastonbury have issued its own statement on the set, saying they’re “appalled” by the chants.
“Glastonbury 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,” it began. “As a festival, we stand against all forms of war and terrorism. We will always believe in – and actively campaign for – hope, unity, peace and love.
“With 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’s presence here should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs,” the statement continued.
It went on to say: “However, 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.”
Israel has been carrying out a full-scale military campaign on occupied Gaza for almost two years, since the October 2023 attack by Hamas at the Israeli music festival Supernova where 1,195 people were killed.
The UN has found Israel’s military actions to be consistent with genocide, and at least 56,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Israel has continually denied that what’s going on in Palestine is considered a genocide, and has argued that it has not partaken in any war crimes.
Bob Vylan’s set preceded Kneecap’s, which made headlines in the lead-up to the festival, after several MPs, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, called on Glastonbury to pull the band from the line-up this weekend.
Glasto co-organiser Emily Eavis responded by saying “everyone is welcome”, and her father, festival founder Michael Eavis added: “People that don’t agree with the politics of the event can go somewhere else!”
The controversy surrounding Kneecap’s set stems from their defiant pro-Palestinian remarks at Coachella in April. Since then, band member Mo Chara – real name Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – has been charged with a terror offence, for which he appeared in court last week.
Opening their set, Mo Chara declared: “Glastonbury, I’m a free man,” nodding to being given unconditional bail from his first appearance on his terror charge. Looking out at the sea of Palestinian flags being waved, he later wished the BBC editor “good luck” with editing them out of the footage.
As for today (June 29) at Glastonbury, sets from Olivia Rodrigo, The Prodigy, Turnstile, Rod Stewart and many more are on the way. Check out the full line-up and schedule here.
Check back at NME here for the latest news, reviews, interviews, photos and more from Glastonbury 2025.
The post Glastonbury “appalled” by Bob Vylan “death to the IDF” chants that “very much crossed a line” appeared first on NME.
What's Your Reaction?
Like
0
Dislike
0
Love
0
Funny
0
Angry
0
Sad
0
Wow
0
