Future Bubblers has announced that it will no longer host a stage at The Great Escape festival as an act of solidarity with Palestine. The talent discovery and development programme cited The Great Escape’s sponsorship by Barclays as the reason for its decision. Barclays has come under attack for its financial investments in companies supplying arms to Israel, a source of controversy amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Future Bubblers tweeted that it supports the Palestinian people and called divestment an essential aspect of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
The decision to drop out of The Great Escape follows announcements from Alcopop! and Big Scary Monsters, both of which refused to participate in the festival after it announced that it was being sponsored by Barclays. The issue was first highlighted in a petition started by the promoter How to Catch a Pig and the band The Menstrual Cramps. To date, the petition has received almost 1,000 signatures, including from 208 of the 440 bands originally affiliated with the festival. Other artists to drop out of the festival in solidarity with Palestine include Lambrini Girls and Cherym, who also criticised Barclays’ sponsorship.
Future Bubblers described Barclays as investing over £1bn in and providing around £3bn worth of financial services to companies supplying weapons and military technology to Israel, which are used in attacks against Palestinians. It further argued that music should not be used to whitewash human rights violations. The future of The Great Escape festival is now in doubt after a groundswell of criticism, including from artists and political campaigners.
The SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, was also hit by a wave of withdrawals in May 2024 due to concerns over its connections with the US Army and weapons companies amid the Israel-Gaza conflict. Many of the artists cited their decision as an act of solidarity with the Palestinian people. Despite the withdrawals, however, SXSW stated that it respects the artists’ right to free speech and said that it believes it is better to understand how the defence industry’s approach to emerging technologies will impact people’s lives
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