Glastonbury festival says it’s ‘appalled’ by anti-Israel chants on stage amid ongoing fallout

Glastonbury Festival says it is “appalled” by statements from punk act Bob Vylan, which led crowds attending the festival in chants of “free, free Palestine” and “death, death to the IDF” yesterday, sparking a police probe and wide condemnation.

“Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence,” it says in a statement.

“With almost 4,000 performances at Glastonbury 2025, there will inevitably be artists and speakers appearing on our stages whose views we do not share, and a performer’s presence here should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs,” it adds.

The Israeli Embassy in Britain says it is “deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival,” including by Irish band Kneecap.

A government spokesperson says Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy contacted the BBC’s director general to seek explanation on how the Bob Vylan show was broadcast.

“We strongly condemn the threatening comments made by Bob Vylan at Glastonbury,” the spokesperson adds.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting says it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made on stage, but adds that he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

“I wish they’d take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously,” Streeting tells Sky News.

The minister refers to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and “the fact that Israeli settler terrorists attacked a Christian village this week, setting it on fire,” urging Israel to “get your own house in order.”