Kneecap hit back at Starmer in highly-charged Glastonbury set

Belfast rap group Kneecap filled Glastonbury’s West Holts stage for a highly-charged performance that hit back at Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer with expletive-laden chants.

The Irish-language band have been in the headlines after rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying the flag of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah at a gig last year. He has denied the charge.

Last week, Sir Keir said Kneecap’s appearance at the festival was “not appropriate”.

On stage, the band thanked Glastonbury for keeping them on the bill and told the crowd the “prime minister of your country, not mine, said he didn’t want us to play”.

Mr Ó hAnnaidh is on bail after a court hearing in London two weeks ago.

Towards the start of their set, the rapper – who was wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh – held his arms out to the crowd and announced, “Glastonbury, I am a free man!”

His bandmate Naoise Ó Cairealláin, who performs under the name Móglaí Bap, called the case “a trumped up terrorism charge”, adding that it was “not the first time there was a miscarriage of justice for an Irish person in the British justice system”.

He then implored fans to turn up to support Mr Ó hAnnaidh at his next court appearance at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in August.

Glastonbury organisers had to fence off the West Holts field 45 minutes before the band’s appearance, as thousands turned up to show their support – or see what all the fuss was about.

They were treated to a set of raucous, rabble-rousing electro-rap, and responded by setting off smoke flares and moshing in giant rippling circles of bodies.

The hedonism of the music, rooted in club and drug culture, was often at odds with the band’s pronouncements between songs.

The trio, who are vocal critics of Israel’s military action in Gaza, addressed that topic again during their Glastonbury set.

“We understand colonialism and we understand how important it is to support each other internationally,” Mr Ó hAnnaidh said.

Accusing Israel of genocide, he then led the crowd in a chant of “free, free Palestine”.

Israel has strongly denied allegations of genocide relating to the ongoing war in Gaza.

Kneecap also voiced support for Palestine Action, a protest group that the UK government intends to proscribe under anti-terror laws, after some of its activists broke into an RAF base and spray-painted two military planes red.

This led to a further chant against Sir Keir, as the band criticised the UK’s sale of arms to Israel.

Formed in 2017, Kneecap rose to fame after starring a semi-autobiographical film alongside Oscar-nominated actor Michael Fassbender last year.

Their vocal support for Palestinians put them under an intense media and political spotlight earlier this year, after an appearance at Coachella Festival in California.

Shortly after, video footage emerged of Mr Ó hAnnaidh allegedly holding a Hezbollah flag at a gig in November 2024.

The video was investigated by anti-terrorism police which resulted in Mr Ó hAnnaidh being charged, under the name Liam O’Hanna.

Amid the row, Sir Keir and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy were among those who said Kneecap’s appearance at Glastonbury was “not appropriate”.

However, the band’s set was backed by Glastonbury founder Sir Michael Eavis and his daughter Emily, who runs the festival.

She told the BBC: “There have been a lot of really heated topics this year, but we remain a platform for many, many artists from all over the world and, you know, everyone is welcome here.”

Sir Michael added that “people that don’t agree with the politics of the event can go somewhere else”, in an interview with Glastonbury’s on-site newspaper.

On stage, Kneecap thanked the festival for their support.

“The pressure that that family was under and they stood strong,” said Mr Ó hAnnaidh. “Fair play to them.”

The band’s Glastonbury appearance caused problems for the BBC, which had to decide whether it could broadcast their set while meeting its obligations to impartiality and offensive language.

Although there was no live stream, the broadcaster said it intended to make highlights available later on Saturday.

“Whilst the BBC doesn’t ban artists, our plans ensure that our programming meets our editorial guideline,” a spokesperson confirmed.

“We don’t always live stream every act from the main stages and look to make an on-demand version of Kneecap’s performance available on our digital platforms, alongside more than 90 other sets.”

During the set, Mr Ó hAnnaidh observed the sea of Palestinian flags in the audience and joked that “the BBC editor is going to have some job”.