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Music Meets Activism: Greta Thunberg Joins Sam Fender in 'Free Palestine' Call
British singer-songwriter Sam Fender transformed his headline set at Copenhagen's Syd for Solen festival into a potent political statement on Friday, 8 August. During the finale of his song 'Hypersonic Missiles,' Fender invited climate activist Greta Thunberg and a group of fellow activists, including UNICEF ambassador Selma de Montgomery and Green Youth Movement's Roba Al-Sharkawi, to join him onstage. The moment ignited the crowd with chants of 'Free, free Palestine!', amplified by a towering Palestinian flag projection. From Lyrics to Action
Fender prefaced the song by acknowledging its grim relevance: written in 2018, 'Hypersonic Missiles' includes the line, 'I am so blissfully unaware of everything / Kids in Gaza are bombed and I'm just out of it.' He told the audience the track now resonated more urgently than ever. As activists took the microphone, their words cut through the festival atmosphere: 'Israel is committing genocide, and it uses starvation as a weapon. People are dying of famine and are being killed for getting their food.'
Activist Omar Rai then followed, 'Profit and power are driving the ethnic cleansing of an entire people. Use your voice—be on the right side of history'.
De Montgomery directly condemned Denmark's government, stating, 'They are guilty of the suffering escalating daily in Gaza… by refusing to end the Danish arms trade with Israel.'
Greta Thunberg seized the moment, telling the roaring crowd, 'The world is watching,' then led the chant: 'Free Palestine! Free, free Palestine! Free, free Palestine! Free, free, free Palestine!', with the audience repeated every line, turning the chorus into a stadium-sized protest. @musadalgahnim
♬ الصوت الأصلي – Musad Algahnim Music as a Movement Amplifier
This impactful moment seamlessly aligns with Sam Fender's consistent advocacy for humanitarian causes. In June, he paused a London Stadium performance, addressing an audience of 70,000, telling them, 'It breaks my heart,' and urged strong support for immediate humanitarian relief. Fender regularly uses his high-profile performances for significant political statements, demonstrating unwavering commitment. His festival appearance extended this advocacy effort, reinforcing his willingness to use his platform. Thunberg's Defiant Path to Copenhagen
The festival appearance came just two months after Israel detained Thunberg during a high-profile attempt to break Gaza's naval blockade. On 8 June, Israeli forces seized the British-flagged aid yacht Madleen in international waters, where Thunberg and 11 others aimed to deliver symbolic humanitarian supplies, though Israel dismissed the mission as a 'selfie yacht' stunt, deporting Thunberg to France. She later condemned her detention: 'Israel committed an illegal act by kidnapping us… The real story is the genocide in Gaza'.
Human rights groups universally criticized the interception, with Amnesty International calling it a violation of international law, emphasizing that Israel's blockade 'flouts binding ICJ orders' for humanitarian access 6.
Undeterred, Thunberg announced an even larger mobilization days before joining Fender onstage. The 'Global Sumud Flotilla', scheduled to launch August 31 from Spain, will involve dozens of boats from 44 countries, including activists, doctors, and artists like Susan Sarandon and Liam Cunningham.
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