A growing number of artists have been pulling out of UK festival Latitude, over its association with Barclays amid the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine. Among those now petitioning the festival to drop Barclays are Irish band Lankum, who suggested in a statement that “collective action is the most effective action.” Comedians Joanne McNally and Alexandra Haddow as well as Irish acts CMAT, Pillow Queens, Mui Zyu and Georgia Ruth have also cancelled their appearances at Latitude. The festival’s ties with the bank have been widely boycotted in recent months, following the Great Escape festival in Brighton, among others.
Lankum, who posted their letter to Latitude on social media, declined to comment further to NME, saying that it hoped to have more news soon. Signs of a possible festival boycott are emerging, as the festival’s association with Barclays comes under greater scrutiny.
Latitude is not alone, with Download also witnessing Scowl, Speed and Zulu pull out over the same reasons. Pest Control, the first band to pull out of the Download 2024 festival, explained on social media that they chose not to “take part in an event whose sponsor profits from facilitating a genocide.”
The emergence of such boycotts follows earlier refusals by some artists to perform at SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas due to its links to the US Army and weapons companies, combined with the Israel-Gaza conflict. According to NME, more than 100 acts cancelled their performances at The Great Escape, bringing the total number of acts boycotting to around a quarter of the total programme.
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