Kneecap to play in London music festival

RTÉ News​

23-05-2025

Rap trio Kneecap are set to headline the Wide Awake festival in London, just two days after one of their members was charged with a terror offence.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, has been charged over the alleged display of a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, in November last year, the Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday.
The group from Belfast, who rap in the Irish language, have a headline slot at Wide Awake Festival in Brockwell Park, south London, on Friday night.
It comes after they held a surprise gig at the 100 Club on Oxford Street on Thursday, where O hAnnaidh could be seen in videos on social media arriving on stage with tape covering his mouth.
He then joked about being careful what he said before saying he wanted to thank his lawyer.
He said: "I need to thank my lawyer he's here tonight as well."
Police said they were at the central London venue on Thursday evening to manage visitors to the sold-out event.
The band said on X that the event sold out in 90 seconds, with 2,000 people on the waiting list.
On Monday, a spokesperson for several planned music festivals due to take place in Brockwell Park in Lambeth said none will be cancelled following a High Court ruling over planning permission.
Last week, Rebekah Shaman, a resident in the area and a member of the Protect Brockwell Park group, successfully brought legal action against Lambeth Council over the use of parts of the park for the festivals.
In a ruling last week, Mr Justice Mould said that the authority's decision to certify the planned use of the land as lawful was "irrational".
Lawyers for Ms Shaman and the Protect Brockwell Park group wrote to the council following the ruling, asking it to "confirm that the event has been cancelled" and to clear any fencing or infrastructure, and stating that Brockwell Live did not have planning permission.
But on Monday, a spokesperson for Brockwell Live said that no events would be cancelled, with Lambeth Council confirming that the event's organisers, Summer Events Limited, had reapplied for planning permission.
O hAnnaidh, 27, was charged by postal requisition and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on June 18, the Metropolitan Police said.
In response to the charge, the group said in a social media statement: "14,000 babies are about to die of starvation in Gaza, with food sent by the world sitting on the other side of a wall, and once again the British establishment is focused on us.
"We deny this 'offence' and will vehemently defend ourselves, this is political policing, this is a carnival of distraction.
"We are not the story, genocide is, as they profit from genocide, they use an 'anti-terror law' against us for displaying a flag thrown on stage. A charge not serious enough to even warrant their crown court, instead a court that doesn't have a jury. What's the objective?
"To restrict our ability to travel. To prevent us speaking to young people across the world. To silence voices of compassion. To prosecute artists who dare speak out.
"Instead of defending innocent people, or the principles of international law they claim to uphold, the powerful in Britain have abetted slaughter and famine in Gaza, just as they did in Ireland for centuries. Then, like now, they claim justification.
"The IDF units they arm and fly spy plane missions for are the real terrorists, the whole world can see it."
Officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command were made aware on April 22 of an online video from the event, police said.
An investigation led to the Crown Prosecution Service authorising the charge.
Earlier this month, the Metropolitan Police said Kneecap were being investigated by counter-terrorism police after videos emerged allegedly showing the band calling for the deaths of MPs and shouting "up Hamas, up Hezbollah".
The rap trio have had gigs cancelled after the footage emerged but are still listed to headline Wide Awake.
They apologised last month to the families of murdered MPs but said footage of the incident had been "exploited and weaponised".
They also said they have "never supported" Hamas or Hezbollah, which are banned in the UK.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called for Kneecap to be banned while other politicians pushed for the group to be dropped from the Glastonbury Festival line-up.
In 2024, the band released an eponymous film starring Oscar-nominated actor Michael Fassbender which is a fictionalised retelling of how the band came together and follows the Belfast group on their mission to save their mother tongue through music.
Formed in 2017, the group – made up of O hAnnaidh, Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh – are known for their provocative lyrics and merchandise as well as their championing of the Irish language.
The London festival has said: "Wide Awake Festival has a proud history of supporting the alternative music scene, and we look forward to staging another unforgettable event showcasing the very best emerging and established talent."
Kneecap posted on X: "This one is gonna be very special".
The bands best-known tracks include Get Your Brits Out, Better Way To Live, featuring Grian Chatten from Fontaines DC, and 3Cag.
The band last performed in Ireland in February with a concert in Cork City Hall.