Maybe a year of historically bad approval ratings has already thickened his skin, but it would be nice to believe that hearing thousands of people chant “fuck Keir Starmer”, during Kneecap’s Glastonbury set, hurt the Prime Minister’s feelings. It stands in stark contrast to former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s rapturous reception at the same festival in 2017, or even Tony Blair’s brief “Cool Britannia” heyday. Some small part of Starmer, surely, once dreamed of being down with the kids – and they all fucking hate him. 

Surprisingly, given the band’s current legal troubles and the months-long campaign to prevent them from playing (endorsed by Starmer himself), Kneecap’s set wasn’t the weekend’s most controversial. That honour goes to Bobby Vylan – one half of punk rock and hip-hop duo Bob Vylan – who led the crowd in a chant of “death, death to the IDF”. This provoked a media firestorm, a police investigation, condemnation from the Israeli embassy and a slew of British politicians alike, as well as a statement from Emily Eavis, the festival co-organiser and daughter of its founder, who distanced Glastonbury from what she implied was “antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.” (A more reasonable position might be “the IDF should face justice in a criminal court”, but that’s not such a catchy chant).

The media fallout has mostly focused on Kneecap and Bob Vylan, two artists it’s easy to portray as controversial or even extreme. But support for Palestine at this year’s Glastonbury went much further: a number of artists made onstage statements of solidarity, and there were Palestine flags in the audience wherever you looked. Despite the best efforts of the British establishment, it has not been possible to make invisible the mass opposition to Israel’s genocide.

Glastonbury might not be the most accurate representation of the UK – the crowd leans younger and more progressive – but opinion polls of the population at large show strong plurality support for an arms embargo on Israel, while one recent survey found that a majority support Israel being expelled from the UN. The solidarity with Palestine on display at Glastonbury, then, is entirely in line with public sentiment. Faced with this turning tide, the British establishment has responded with censorship, manufactured moral panics and draconian new legislation (such as the attempt to ban Palestine Action). But none of this is working. The British people want the genocide to end, and the government can either acquiesce to that demand or slide further into authoritarianism. 

While it was the dominant theme, the political statements made at this year’s Glastonbury weren’t limited to Palestine. Artists used their platform to voice a range of positions (and not all of them good.) Here are some of the most significant.

BOB VYLAN 

While the world was preoccupied with whether the BBC would broadcast Kneecap’s set live, it seemed that London-based punk-rap duo Bob Vylan slipped under the radar. Their set at the West Holts stage ultimately proved to be the most high-profile of the weekend, with vocalist Bobby Vylan leading the crowd in both “Free Palestine” and “Death to the IDF” chants while performing in front of a screen that read: “United Nations has called it a genocide. The BBC calls it a ‘conflict’.” 

The moment was broadcast live by the BBC and immediately became the centre of a media storm – Keir Starmer denounced the chants as “appalling hate speech”, while Glastonbury itself issued a social media statement reading that Vylan’s chants had “crossed a line”. Meanwhile, the Avon and Somerset Police force announced that they were reviewing the footage “to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.”

Still, Vylan themselves doubled down on their comments the morning after their performance, writing on social media: “It is incredibly important that we encourage and inspire future generations to pick up the torch that was passed to us. Let us display to them loudly and visibly the right thing to do when we want and need change.” (SPM)

KNEECAP 

All eyes were on Glastonbury’s West Holts stage on Saturday evening as Kneecap took to the stage. The Belfast rap trio have found themselves at the centre of widespread controversy for their tireless support of Palestine in recent months. In the wake of terrorism charges being brought against group member Mo Chara for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a London performance last year, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer calling for the group to be dropped from the Glastonbury lineup, the BBC decided not to live-stream the group’s set (though it was later made available on iPlayer).

Met with one of the biggest crowds of the weekend, many of whom were displaying Palestinian and Irish flags, Kneecap rapper Móglaí Bap referenced this subtext surrounding their performance, gesturing to the politically charged crowd and joking that “the BBC editor is going to have some job [editing this out].” As expected, the group made frequent statements in solidarity with the people of Palestine throughout their high-energy set, which fused Irish-language rap, punk and electronic dance music. There were multiple “Free Palestine” and “Fuck Keir Starmer chants”, as well as Móglaí Bap briefly calling for a riot outside of Westminster High Court during Mo Chara’s next court hearing in August. But, ultimately, the group’s message was one of peace. 

Móglaí Bap later clarified that they didn’t want a literal riot, but rather peaceful support for Mo Chara, and reiterated their earlier statements that “the story isn’t about Kneecap, the story is about the genocide that is happening right now in Palestine.” They also expressed their thanks to Glastonbury’s Eavis family for refusing calls to drop them from the lineup. (SPM)

PALESTINE ACTION

Even after the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed that she would proscribe Palestine Action under anti-terror laws, Glastonbury still allowed Palestine Action activist Francesca Nadin to speak at the festival alongside Sam Holland, the leader of Youth Demand, the environmental and political activist group, who famously vandalised Vincent Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” in the National Gallery. On stage, Nadin stated that this time last year, “I was watching Glasto on TV in a prison cell. I got sent to prison for acting to stop the genocide in Palestine, and now I am here in real life.”

Nadin was arrested for “conspiracy to commit criminal damage” against two Leeds banks, Barclays and JP Morgan, due to their financial ties to Israel. “We [Palestine Action] go into these factories, and we smash them up. We cause as much damage as possible because when these factories are losing money, they have no choice but to shut down… We’re going to keep on until they are all gone. We say ‘No genocide in our name.’” She ended her speech by asking people to “join Palestine Action” and “be on the right side of history.” (HJ)

LIBERTINES

The Libertines are Glastonbury regulars, having played the festival four times. However, this time around, their set had a more political edge, with their drummer, Gary Powell, holding up the Palestinian Flag and the crowd chanting “Free Palestine”. Their microphones were reportedly turned off as they started speaking about the genocide in Gaza. (HJ)

JADE 

Little Mix singer Jade also waded into the current political situation in the UK, leading the Pyramid Stage crowd to chant a series of “Fuck yous” to welfare cuts, the Reform Party, transphobia, selling arms and genocide during her performance. (SPM)

SEUN KUTI

Seun Kuti, the son of political activist and principal innovator of Afrobeats, Fela Kuti, and an incredible musician in his own right, offered some advice to young people in Europe during his performance on Saturday night. “I know you want to free Palestine, you want to free Congo, you want to free Sudan, you want to free Iran. There’s a new one every week. But free Europe.”

He continued: “Free Europe from right-wing extremism, free Europe from fascism, free Europe from racism, free Europe from imperialism. When you do this job, as soon as you do this job, Gaza will be free, Congo will be free, Sudan will be free, and Iran will be free. Forget about us, free Europe.” (HJ)

TURNSTILE

Clashing with Rod Stewart’s performance yesterday (June 29), American hardcore band du jour Turnstile whipped the Other Stage crowd into a frenzy with their punk rock revivalism and chants to “Free Palestine” from lead vocalist Brendan Yates. (SPM)

THE 1975

When Matty Healy opens his mouth, you never know what the hell is going to come out, and it is often very annoying. On Friday night, The 1975 performed on the Pyramid Stage, and Healy told the crowd that the group would no longer involve themselves in politics. “The people who are watching this might be disappointed at the lack of politics in this show and our forthcoming shows. I want you to know it’s a conscious decision, and we don’t want our legacy to be one of politics; we want it to be that of love and friendship.” On social media, Healy was dragged for this kumbaya-ass speech, which suggested that love conquers all and all we need is friendship at a time when a brutal genocide is unfolding and Donald Trump is President.

However, it appears that Healy was joking, as the band went on to play one of their most politically charged songs, “Love It If We Made It”, after the speech, which featured clips of Brett Kavanaugh, Trump, the KKK, and more. While I do think Healy was taking the piss, be serious for once in your life and read the room! It’s getting boring. (HJ)

ROD STEWART

I don’t know why it’s surprising that 80-year-old multimillionaire Rod Stewart is a fan of Nigel Farage – which he revealed during a Times interview to promote his legend slot at Glastonbury – but somehow it is. He’s got long hair, for god’s sake! Mr Stewart, please stop trying to convey an air of groovy bohemianism if you fuck with the Reform party. Swap the flamboyant silk shirts for tweed, and the next time you go to the hairdressers you better make it a military-grade short back and sides – or else! 

Stewart did manage to refrain from hyping up Farage during his set itself, limiting his political interventions to dedicating a song to Ukraine. And in the spirit of fairness, “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” still slaps. (JG)

CMAT

Continuing the trend of Irish solidarity with the people of Palestine at Glastonbury this year, County Meath-raised country-pop star CMAT closed her energetic Pyramid stage performance on Friday (June 27) by leading the crowd in a ”Free Palestine” chant. (SPM)

NILÜFER YANYA

London-born singer songwriter, and the creator of one of Dazed’s best albums of 2024, My Method Actor, Nilüfer Yanya was surrounded by pro-Palestine messaging during her Saturday slot. The multi-instrumentalist displayed the message “More action, more noise, less fear, free Palestine” on both the stage screen and a handmade banner while she performed at the William’s Green stage. (SPM)

ELIJAH HEWSON 

Born to U2 frontman Bono and Irish activist Ali Hewson, Dublin-based musician and Inhaler lead vocalist Elijah Hewson also gave an extended speech dedicated to Palestine during his Pyramid Stage performance on Friday. “I’d like to dedicate this next song to the people of Palestine [who are] being starved or bombed for the sake of some lunatics. I feel like we have to say that because I think our greatest strength is freedom of expression, and there’s no better place for that than right here at Glastonbury,” he announced before launching into 2021 pop punk hit “It Won’t Always Be Like This”. (SPM)

SPRINTS

Having recently withdrawn from SXSW London over the festival’s ties to companies investing in Israeli weapons manufactures, Irish garage punk band Sprints gave prominent mention to Palestine during their Glastonbury performance. The group displayed the message “Free Palestine” as well as the Palestinian flag during their set. (SPM)