BBC Faces Backlash Amid Claims They Won't Show Kneecap's Glastonbury Set

The BBC is facing criticism amid speculation that Kneecap’s upcoming set at Glastonbury will not be shown on the national broadcaster.

On Tuesday, the BBC unveiled a comprehensive guide to the Glastonbury sets that will be airing on BBC One and iPlayer when the annual festival gets underway later this week.

However, Kneecap’s Saturday set on the West Holts stage was noticeably absent from the guide, which was met with controversy on social media:

Kneecap found themselves at the centre of scrutiny following their set at the Coachella music festival in April, where they voiced their support for Palestine amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

This included projecting messages like “fuck Israel, free Palestine” onto the screens behind them, and leading the crowd in a chant of “free Palestine”.

Days later, it was reported that counter-terrorism officers were assessing a resurfaced video that was recorded at a gig in London five months earlier, during which the group reportedly declared “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”.

It was subsequently confirmed that band member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – better known to fans by his stage name Mo Chara – had been charged with a terror offence over this clip, for which he made his first appearance in court last week.

Kneecap responded to the news of Ó hAnnaidh being charged in a group statement which said: “We deny this ‘offence’ and will vehemently defend ourselves. This is political policing. This is a carnival of distraction. We are not the story. Genocide is.”

Prior to that, the band said they had been made the subject of a smear campaign, while insisting: “Let us be unequivocal. We do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah. We condemn all attacks on civilians, always. It is never okay.”

In response to the speculation that the BBC will not be airing Kneecap’s Glastonbury set, a spokesperson told HuffPost UK: “As the broadcast partner, the BBC will be bringing audiences extensive music coverage from Glastonbury, with artists booked by the festival organisers.

“Whilst the BBC doesn’t ban artists, our plans will ensure that our programming will meet our editorial guidelines. Decisions about our output will be made in the lead up to the festival.”

It was also pointed out that scheduling decisions continue to be made leading up to and, on occasion, during the festival.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch recently called for the BBC not to broadcast Kneecap’s Glastonbury set, suggesting that doing so is comparable with “rewarding extremism”.

Prime minister Keir Starmer, meanwhile, went one step further, claiming it was not “appropriate” for Glastonbury to keep Kneecap on its line-up.

Responding to Starmer, the West Belfast hip-hop trio wrote on Instagram: “You know what’s ‘not appropriate’ Keir?! Arming a fucking genocide…”