Latest news with #LVRA
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Multiple artists boycott SXSW London over Tony Blair and David Cameron talks
Musicial acts including LVRA and Heartworms have dropped out of the inaugural SXSW London festival due to the undisclosed involvement of former MPs Tony Blair and David Cameron Several music acts have withdrawn from the inaugural edition of SXSW London for allegedly hiding the involvement of controversial speakers from both the public and scheduled artists. LVRA, Sam Akpro and other artists are accusing the festival of 'art-washing' after news that former Prime Ministers David Cameron and Tony Blair were part of the programme. SXSW London 2025 marks the US event's debut in Europe, running from June 2 to June 7 in Shoreditch. The week-long event includes talks, panel discussions, workshops and music performances with major politicians, entrepreneurs and artists including Dr. Jane Goodall, American-entrepreneur Lucy Guo, Sadiq Khan, Letitia Wright, Idris Elba, and many more. Last week, journalist Matt Kennard shared screenshots of an alleged leaked programme via X, which revealed that former PMs David Cameron and Tony Blair would speak at the event - unbeknownst to artists. According to Kennard, organisers were 'keen' to have both talks go ahead, despite the leak. When news of Cameron and Blair's involvement in the festival broke, artists jasmine.4.t, Heartworms, Sam Akpro, Blood Of Aza, Saliah, and LVRA all revealed that they would no longer perform at the event. The latter posted a lengthy statement accusing the organisers of 'art-washing'. LVRA shared via Instagram: 'Having spent the last several weeks in talks with the music team at SXSWL, I will be boycotting. This is also in solidarity with other acts who have already boycotted the festival.' The artist added: 'Whilst the music team were pulling together a diverse, 'cool' line-up, the conference team were booking speakers from multiple organisations deeply complicit in the current genocide of Palestinian people. This included weapons tech IDF supplier Palantir, Barclays and politicians such as Tony Blair and David Cameron. This surmounts to art-washing.' They then cited numerous other criticisms of the event, including 'inaccessible pricing' that excludes marginalised groups and an 'exploitative business model'. After raising concerns to the event, LVRA confirmed some 'productive conversations' that led to the removal of the CTO of Palantir and Head of Sponsorship at Barclays but announced their withdrawal after learning of Cameron and Blair's planned involvement. Sam Akpro also issued a statement announcing his withdrawal due to the involvement of the PMs and Kate O'Brien, who is involved in the NATO Innovation Fund. In his statement, Akpro also accused the festival of art-washing, saying: 'SXSW is using us smaller and minority artists to push information and ideologies that I do not align myself with.' Heartworms, who was due to headline Hoxton Hall on June 7, cancelled her appearance, telling fans: 'I won't be performing at SXSW London this weekend for what I hope are fairly obvious reasons – I stand with those who have already done the same, and thank you to my team and label for their understanding.' In a statement to NME, a SXSW London spokesperson said: 'As one of the world 's largest festivals across tech, music and the creative industries, SXSW London respects everyone's views and positions and aims to create an open, diverse space for debate and discussion." Blair spoke at the conference's opening day about how AI can make government's better alongside Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Peter Kyle. Blair said it was an 'enormous honour and pleasure' to share the stage with Kyle, saying he is 'one of the people I admire most in politics'. 'I hope that doesn't damage you political career too much, Pete,' Blair joked about his endorsement of Kyle. On the second day of the conference, David Cameron took the stage for a discussion titled 'A Healthcare Revolution'.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
SXSW London accused of ‘artwashing' for hosting unannounced panels with Tony Blair and David Cameron
Famed as the world's leading festival of creativity, SXSW has made its European debut this month with an edition landing in London for the first time. However, controversy quickly reared its head... Former UK prime ministers Tony Blair and David Cameron were among the unannounced speakers at the inaugural edition of SXSW London, which runs until 7 June and spans film, gaming, panel discussion and music – including musical acts Erykah Badu, Nile Rodgers and Idris Elba. Screenshots were leaked of the un-shared programme that included Cameron talking on a panel called Healthcare Revolution, and Blair on one called Government and AI, which also featured Technology Secretary and Labour Friends of Israel member Peter Kyle. Tony Blair spoke at the conference's opening day, saying that Britain needs to fully embrace artificial intelligence in public services and that we 'could have AI tutors' along with 'AI nurses, AI doctors'. Despite lingering concerns over data privacy and job displacement, Blair stated that the UK risks being left behind in what he described as the greatest transformation since the 19th-century Industrial Revolution. His comments were echoed by Peter Kyle, who argued that the UK risked becoming 'obsolete' if it failed to act boldly. Blair did stress that AI was neither inherently good or bad, but a powerful tool requiring responsible use. Both Blair and Kyle spoke after a UK government trial found that generative AI could save civil servants an average of 26 minutes a day. The panel appearance, which was not announced to the public or artists, prompted many artists to cancel their planned performances at the festival. Sam Akpro, Rat Party, Saliah and LVRA were amongst the artists who pulled out, with the latter accusing the festival of 'artwashing', saying that 'whilst the music team were pulling together a diverse, 'cool' lineup, the conference team were booking speakers from multiple organisations deeply complicit in the current genocide of Palestinian people.' 'I implore artists to engage, rather than ignore, those things that affect us and strive to protect the most marginalised voices in the world,' LVRA added. 'I urge us as a community to think bigger, and better, than the scraps offered to us today.' Scottish artist Magnus Westwell said they're also joining the boycott "due to the corporation's unethical, misleading and secretive conference programming of war criminals, art-washing and practices that exploit marginalised artists." See some of the other reactions below. To address the criticisms, a spokesperson for SXSW London sent the following: "As one of the world's largest festivals across tech, music and the creative industries, SXSW London respects everyone's views and positions and aims to create an open, diverse space for debate and discussion.' The statement continued: 'Across the breadth of the festival, with over 800 speakers, we have a broad range of global leaders spanning the technology and cultural industries, their inclusion doesn't represent an endorsement of any particular position or viewpoint." This is not the first time that artists have boycotted SXSW. More than 100 artists and speakers pulled out of last year's edition of the brand's flagship Austin event in Texas after it partnered with the US Army and defense contractor RTX Corporation. The huge wave of 2024 SXSW boycotts due to the festival's ties to defense groups that supply Israeli weapons in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war included artists like Kneecap, Rachel Chinouriri, Lambrini Girls and Scowl. Following the backlash, both partnerships were discontinued for 2025 - proving artist Saliah right: boycotts work.
Euronews
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
SXSW London accused of ‘artwashing' for hosting panel with Tony Blair
Famed as the world's leading festival of creativity, SXSW has made its European debut this month with an edition landing in London for the first time. However, controversy quickly reared its head... Former UK prime ministers Tony Blair and David Cameron were among the unannounced speakers at the inaugural edition of SXSW London, which runs until 7 June and spans film, gaming, panel discussion and music – including musical acts Erykah Badu, Nile Rodgers and Idris Elba. Screenshots were leaked of the un-shared programme that included Cameron talking on a panel called Healthcare Revolution, and Blair on one called Government and AI, which also featured Technology Secretary and Labour Friends of Israel member Peter Kyle. Tony Blair spoke at the conference's opening day, saying that Britain needs to fully embrace artificial intelligence in public services and that we 'could have AI tutors' along with 'AI nurses, AI doctors'. Despite lingering concerns over data privacy and job displacement, Blair stated that the UK risks being left behind in what he described as the greatest transformation since the 19th-century Industrial Revolution. His comments were echoed by Peter Kyle, who argued that the UK risked becoming 'obsolete' if it failed to act boldly. Blair did stress that AI was neither inherently good or bad, but a powerful tool requiring responsible use. Both Blair and Kyle spoke after a UK government trial found that generative AI could save civil servants an average of 26 minutes a day. The panel appearance, which was not announced to the public or artists, prompted many artists to cancel their planned performances at the festival. Sam Akpro, Rat Party, Saliah and LVRA were amongst the artists who pulled out, with the latter accusing the festival of 'artwashing', saying that 'whilst the music team were pulling together a diverse, 'cool' lineup, the conference team were booking speakers from multiple organisations deeply complicit in the current genocide of Palestinian people.' 'I implore artists to engage, rather than ignore, those things that affect us and strive to protect the most marginalised voices in the world,' LVRA added. 'I urge us as a community to think bigger, and better, than the scraps offered to us today.' Scottish artist Magnus Westwell said they're also joining the boycott "due to the corporation's unethical, misleading and secretive conference programming of war criminals, art-washing and practices that exploit marginalised artists." See some of the other reactions below. Une publication partagée par LVRA // loo-rah (@itslooroll) Une publication partagée par Sam Akpro (@ Une publication partagée par Saliah (SAAL-YA) ساليا (@saliahgram) To address the criticisms, a spokesperson for SXSW London sent the following: "As one of the world's largest festivals across tech, music and the creative industries, SXSW London respects everyone's views and positions and aims to create an open, diverse space for debate and discussion.' The statement continued: 'Across the breadth of the festival, with over 800 speakers, we have a broad range of global leaders spanning the technology and cultural industries, their inclusion doesn't represent an endorsement of any particular position or viewpoint." This is not the first time that artists have boycotted SXSW. More than 100 artists and speakers pulled out of last year's edition of the brand's flagship Austin event in Texas after it partnered with the US Army and defense contractor RTX Corporation. The huge wave of 2024 SXSW boycotts due to the festival's ties to defense groups that supply Israeli weapons in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war included artists like Kneecap, Rachel Chinouriri, Lambrini Girls and Scowl. Following the backlash, both partnerships were discontinued for 2025 - proving artist Saliah right: boycotts work.
