Glastonbury founder says people who don't agree with festival's politics 'can go somewhere else'
THE FOUNDER OF Glastonbury has told those who disagree with the politics of performers at the festival to 'go somewhere else'.
His comments come after the music festival faced backlash for keeping Kneecap in the lineup, after one member was charged under the British Terrorism Act. Critics included UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Mo Chara, whose real name is Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, allegedly displayed a flag in support of Hezbollah at a London show last year.
Starmer said, in light of this, the Belfast rap trio should not be allowed to perform at Glastonbury this year.
Ó hAnnaidh was last week
released on unconditional bail
to appear before a judge again in August. His defence team signalled that they
will be contesting the charges
, and the band has said the accusations are politically-motivated.
Advertisement
When asked by
Glastonbury Free Press
, the festival's newspaper, whether the event still stood for something, founder Michael Eavis said: 'Oh heaven's above, yes, of course it does. And I think the people that come here are into all those things.
People that don't agree with the politics of the event can go somewhere else.
Kneecap are to perform on West Holts stage this Saturday at 4pm.
The music festival is broadcast by the BBC each year. UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch
said it should not air Kneecap's performance
.
The BBC said in a statement to the UK's Independent newspaper: 'Whilst the BBC doesn't ban artists, our plans will ensure that our programming will meet our editorial guidelines. Decisions about our output will be made in the lead up to the festival.'
Kneecap today released a short film called See it. Say it. Censored.
A collaboration involving a number of artists, the film builds on reports from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and UN agencies, explaining what is happening in Gaza.
It includes testimony from Palestinians and doctors who have seen the impact of Israel's siege first-hand.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Learn More
Support The Journal
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Journal
3 hours ago
- The Journal
US approves $30m funding for controversial Israeli-supported relief effort in Gaza
THE UNITED STATES has approved its first direct funding for a controversial Israeli-supported relief effort in the Gaza Strip and urged other countries to follow suit. 'We have approved funding for $30 million to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). And we call on other countries to also support the GHF and its critical work,' State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told reporters. Starting in March, Israel blocked deliveries of food and other crucial supplies into Gaza for more than two months, leading to warnings of famine in the territory widely flattened by Israeli bombing since the 7 October, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by armed US contractors with the Israeli troops on the perimeter, began operations at the end of May that have been marred by chaotic scenes, deaths and neutrality concerns. The Gaza health ministry says that since late May, nearly 550 people have been killed near aid centres while seeking scarce supplies. Israeli forces have on a number of occasions opened fire on crowds of hungry people who were making their way to distribution points operated by the GHF. The first deadly incident happened on the morning of Sunday, 25 May, when 31 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire , according to the Gaza Civil Defence agency. The GHF has denied that deadly incidents have occurred in the immediate vicinity of its aid points. There are often full internet blackouts in Gaza, but the GHF informs people in the region about the operation of distribution centres on Facebook with little advance notice. Major aid groups and the United Nations have refused to work with the officially private group, saying it violates basic humanitarian principles by coordinating delivery with troops. UN rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan warned this week of 'scenes of chaos around the food distribution points' of the GHF. Since the organisation began operating, 'the Israeli military has shelled and shot Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points, leading to many fatalities', he said. Kheetan cautioned that the system 'endangers civilians and contributes to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza'. 'The weaponisation of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime, and, under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes under international law,' he added. The man who was initially heading up the organisation, US military veteran Jake Wood, resigned the day before it began operating in Gaza, citing similar concerns to those expressed by the UN. A former USAID contractor, John Acree, took over as John Wood's interim replacement and evangelical preacher and former Trump campaign advisor was named Reverend Johnnie Moore was named the new chairman earlier this month. Asked about the criticism of the operation, Pigott said that the 46 million meals the group says it has so far distributed are 'absolutely incredible' and 'should be applauded.' 'From day one, we said we are open to creative solutions that securely provide aid to those in Gaza and protects Israel,' Pigott said. The financial support to the GHF is part of President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio's 'pursuit of peace in the region,' he said. -With additional reporting from © AFP 2025 Advertisement Related Reads UN condemns Israel's 'weaponisation of food' in Gaza as another 25 people reported killed 'I saw a man crushed': Behind the scenes of the humanitarian aid chaos in Gaza Israeli forces kill more than 50 and wound over 200 in latest massacre at aid site in Gaza Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Journal
5 hours ago
- The Journal
Glastonbury founder says people who don't agree with festival's politics 'can go somewhere else'
THE FOUNDER OF Glastonbury has told those who disagree with the politics of performers at the festival to 'go somewhere else'. His comments come after the music festival faced backlash for keeping Kneecap in the lineup, after one member was charged under the British Terrorism Act. Critics included UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Mo Chara, whose real name is Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, allegedly displayed a flag in support of Hezbollah at a London show last year. Starmer said, in light of this, the Belfast rap trio should not be allowed to perform at Glastonbury this year. Ó hAnnaidh was last week released on unconditional bail to appear before a judge again in August. His defence team signalled that they will be contesting the charges , and the band has said the accusations are politically-motivated. Advertisement When asked by Glastonbury Free Press , the festival's newspaper, whether the event still stood for something, founder Michael Eavis said: 'Oh heaven's above, yes, of course it does. And I think the people that come here are into all those things. People that don't agree with the politics of the event can go somewhere else. Kneecap are to perform on West Holts stage this Saturday at 4pm. The music festival is broadcast by the BBC each year. UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said it should not air Kneecap's performance . The BBC said in a statement to the UK's Independent newspaper: 'Whilst the BBC doesn't ban artists, our plans will ensure that our programming will meet our editorial guidelines. Decisions about our output will be made in the lead up to the festival.' Kneecap today released a short film called See it. Say it. Censored. A collaboration involving a number of artists, the film builds on reports from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and UN agencies, explaining what is happening in Gaza. It includes testimony from Palestinians and doctors who have seen the impact of Israel's siege first-hand. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
RTÉ News
5 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Happy Valley star James Norton feels like he has 'become a man' after break-up
Happy Valley star James Norton has said he feels like he has "become a man" following the break-up of a six-year relationship. Norton, 39, said he initially found it hard but said he would always be friends with the woman, who he did not name, during a talk, called Daring To Change, on The Information stage at Glastonbury Festival on Thursday. Norton said: "It's very f****** hard, but it happened in a very abrupt way, and it happened kind of to me, and I thought that I was on a path. "I was about to have kids, about to get married, all that kind of stuff, and my life just turned around, completely changed direction. "And I thought I lost the person, but I also lost the life that I was about to lead, and the kids that we named, all that kind of stuff. "And actually, in the last year and a half, I have gone through the most monumental change as a result, and I feel like I've grown up, I feel like I've become a man. "I suddenly feel like I've grown up, I found some friends, relationships, the outpouring of love from my family around me was amazing. "I ended up going to a Buddhist retreat in the south of France called Plum Village, anyone been to Plum Village? If you haven't, you should go. "It's the best place in the world, and I went because I was in this pit of pain, and now I have this community. "It's a Zen Buddhist community, it's amazing, and if you haven't gone, really look it up, it really does change your life. "But so much has been born from that massive, radical change." Norton, who also played Sidney Chambers in ITV drama Grantchester, has been romantically linked to 36-year-old English actress Imogen Poots and artist Charlotte Rose Smith. During the chat, he added: "I was very much like the furious optimist, it was hard, I love that person (the unnamed woman) so much, and I will always love her, she's amazing, and we will have a relationship forever I hope, and there's no resentment. "And actually, in a weird way, I kind of owe her so much, because she was the one who took it upon herself to make that massive decision, and she gave me a gift, she gave me this opportunity to grow up." The London-born actor starred as Tommy Lee Royce in BBC drama Happy Valley, and has also appeared in Doctor Who, crime drama McMafia and sci-fi drama The Nevers.
