More than 100 artists have withdrawn from participating in a music festival in Brighton, the Great Escape music festival, in the south of England, in support of a boycott campaign against the Barclays bank that sponsors the event, and which they accuse of investing in companies selling weapons to Israel.
Almost a quarter of the bands and musicians scheduled for the Great Escape festival, which highlights the British independent scene and runs until Saturday in the coastal town, have joined a campaign called “Bands Boycott Barclays” in recent days. “.
The aim is to convince the festivals to end their collaboration with the British bank, accused by these artists and activists of maintaining “financial ties with arms companies that sell weapons to Israel”, which is leading an offensive against Hamas in Gaza, after the unprecedented attacks of October. 7.
Support from Brian Eno and Massive Attack
An open letter urging festival organizers to break with Barclays, published in March, was signed by hundreds of associations, labels, music fans and artists, including big names who did not participate in the event, such as Massive Attack or Brian Eno.
“We refuse to allow music to be used to cover up human rights violations; we cannot allow our creative productions to become smoke screens behind which money is injected to murder Palestinians,” they denounced.
So far, 126 groups or artists have refused to perform at the festival, which has been held in Brighton since 2006, and the five opening concerts scheduled for Wednesday night had to be cancelled.
Promote other festivals
Questioned about arms sales last week during its general meeting in Glasgow, Barclays denied having invested in or held shares on its behalf in defense companies that supply arms to Israel.
Neither the bank nor the organizers of the Great Escape festival responded to AFP’s requests.
Alfie Templeman, one of the artists who canceled their participation, hoped on Instagram that this campaign “will encourage festivals and events around the world to prioritize ethics when choosing their partners.”
Barclays will sponsor other festivals this summer in the United Kingdom, such as the Isle of Wight festival at the end of June, where Green Day and the Pet Shop Boys are scheduled, or the Latitude at the end of July in Suffolk (eastern England), where Duran Duran, Keane and London Grammar are expected.
Source: BFM TV
