Multiple bands have withdrawn from the Victorious music festival just hours before their scheduled performances, following allegations by Irish folk group The Mary Wallopers that they were abruptly stopped for displaying a Palestinian flag.
The Last Dinner Party, Cliffords, and The Academic declared on Saturday that they would no longer be participating in the annual music festival in Portsmouth in the wake of Friday’s incident.
The event organizers, who cited a «discriminatory» chant as the reason for cutting short the band’s set, have since expressed regret and committed to making «a significant donation to humanitarian relief efforts for the Palestinian people.»
Rock band The Last Dinner Party expressed their «outrage» over the incident and announced their decision to boycott the festival.
«We are appalled by the action taken to silence The Mary Wallopers yesterday at Victorious. As a band, we cannot support political censorship and, therefore, will be boycotting the festival today,» they stated in a message posted on their Instagram page.
«With Gazans facing deliberate famine after two years of escalating violence, it is crucial and evident that artists utilize their platform to raise awareness for the cause.
«To witness an attempt to divert attention from the genocide in order to maintain a politically neutral image is extremely disappointing.»
The Last Dinner Party mentioned that they have used their performances throughout the summer to encourage their audiences to donate to a medical charity supporting Palestinians and urged their fans «more than ever to do the same.»
The band expressed being «devastated to be put in this position» and apologized to those who were looking forward to seeing them perform.
After The Mary Wallopers’ performance, a spokesperson for Victorious stated: «We spoke to the artist before the performance regarding the festival’s longstanding policy of not allowing flags of any kind at the event, but we respect their right to express their views during the show.
«Although a flag was displayed on stage against our policy, and this was brought to the attention of the artist’s crew, the show was not halted at that moment, and it was the artist’s decision to pause the song.»
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The Mary Wallopers alleged that the festival issued a «misleading statement to the press, claiming they stopped our sound because of a discriminatory chant, and not the band’s call to Free Palestine.»
The band stated that their video «clearly depicts a Victorious crew member coming on stage, disrupting our show, removing the flag from the stage, and then cutting the sound following a chant of ‘Free Palestine’.»
«The same crew member is later heard in the video saying ‘you aren’t playing until the flag is removed’,» added the band.
Rock band The Academic also withdrew from the festival, stating that they could not «in good conscience» perform at «a festival that silences free speech,» while Irish band Cliffords mentioned they «refuse to play if we are to be censored for showing our support to the people of Palestine.»
Following the bands’ announcements of their withdrawal from the festival, the organizers issued another statement, acknowledging that they did not handle «the explanation of our policies sensitively or far enough in advance to allow a sensible conclusion to be reached,» and issued an apology.