Barclays Bank has withdrawn as a sponsor of several music festivals after a number of bands boycotted due to its commercial partnership with the bank. Download Festival, Latitude, and Isle of Wight festivals will no longer feature Barclays as a sponsor after bands including Pest Control, Scowl, Speed, and Zulu dropped out of the Donington Park festival in protest. Pest Control stated that they “would not take part in an event whose sponsor profits from facilitating a genocide,” while Scowl boycotted due to “Barclays Bank sponsorship of the event and Barclays’ connection to Israel and the genocide Israel is committing in Palestine.”
In response to the news, Latitude confirmed that “following discussions with artists, we have agreed with Barclays that they will step back from sponsorship of Latitude Festival.” Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello celebrated the move, saying “a bank funding war crimes has no place at music festivals.”
Enter Shikari, who are set to play Download Festival, responded to the news on social media, stating that “there has been mounting pressure for bands to drop out of Download festival due to the involvement of Barclays Bank.” The band continued by congratulating Download and the pressure group Bands Boycott Barclays, stating “this is what we can achieve when we work together instead of dividing ourselves with attempts at moral purity.”
The Download boycott followed a large number of acts dropping out of SXSW earlier this year due to that festival’s ties to the US Army and weapons companies amid the Israel-Gaza conflict. There was also a boycott of The Great Escape in Brighton last month, with over 100 acts dropping out in solidarity with Palestine. A Barclays spokesperson stated that “the defence sector is fundamental to our national security and the UK government has been clear that supporting defence companies is compatible with ESG considerations.
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