11 hours ago
BREAKING NEWS Glastonbury bosses closes stage amid crowd crush fears as Kneecap prepare to perform
Glastonbury bosses have closed the stage where controversial Irish language rap group Kneecap are set to perform today amid crowd crush fears.
The rap trio were due to take to the West Holts stage at 4pm on Saturday, just over a week after one of their members appeared in court on terror charges.
But some 45 minutes before their set was to start organisers were forced to shut off entry to the area surrounding the stage as it was already rammed with festivalgoers.
Despite organisers deploying extra precautions to prevent crowd crushing, insiders have told MailOnline Glastonbury bosses are concerned about instances of dangerous overcrowding.
To tackle the festival-wide problem of overcrowding at stages, daughter of the co-founder Emily Eavis said they had sold 'a few thousand fewer tickets' and expanded the capacity of the stages.
But a source close to the festival has told MailOnline: 'Crowd crushing is still a massive concern at Glastonbury, over the weekend there are several warnings that have been issued to workers to watch out for certain areas.
'The Woodsies stage is the biggest headache because they've misjudged acts like Lola Young and Lorde so it definitely was a bit touch and go on Friday.'
The controversial Irish band, Kneecap, told fans to get to their set early on their Instagram because 'The crowd expected today is far greater than West Holts capacity.'
On June 18 the rapper was cheered by hundreds of supporters as he arrived with bandmates Westminster Magistrates' Court in Free Mo Chara T-shirts.
The group has defended their previous provocative performances as 'satirical' ahead of performing at Glastonbury, as the BBC confirmed it would not be livestreaming their set.
Their performance will not be live-streamed but is likely to be made available later on iPlayer, the BBC has said.
Senior Westminster politicians have criticised their participation in the popular music festival and called for them to be removed from the line-up, but festival bosses refused to do so.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he does not think it is 'appropriate' for Kneecap to perform at Glastonbury, while Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said she thought the BBC 'should not be showing' Kneecap's performance.
Kneecap member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, 27, appeared in court last week after being charged for allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah while saying 'up Hamas, up Hezbollah' at a gig in November last year.
The band were also criticised following footage of a November 2023 gig allegedly showing a member saying: 'The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.'
He was released on unconditional bail until the next hearing at the same court on August 20.
Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, said the videos only resurfaced after Kneecap performed at Coachella in April, where they said 'F*** Israel. Free Palestine '.
Mo Chara, along with bandmates Naoise Ó Caireallain (Móglaí Bap), and JJ Ó Dochartaigh (DJ Próvaí), have repeatedly argued controversy surrounding their performances is a distraction from the horrors endured by Palestinians amid Israel's war in Gaza.
They said they are happy to lose income and clout in order to be 'on the right side of history', and said they hoped that 'being vocal and being unafraid' would encourage other bands to speak up on Palestine.
Kemi Badenoch retweeted a post on X on Saturday criticising the BBC for saying it would likely put Kneecap's set on iPlayer
Immediately before the set at Glastonbury on Saturday, artist Bob Vylan in the slot prior displayed a Palestine flag as he walked on stage.
A BBC spokesperson said: 'As the broadcast partner, the BBC is bringing audiences extensive music coverage from Glastonbury, with artists booked by the festival organisers.
'While the BBC doesn't ban artists, our plans ensure that our programming meets our editorial guidelines.
'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.'
It is understood the BBC needs to consider the performance before making a final decision.
The band said on Instagram: 'The propaganda wing of the regime has just contacted us....
'They WILL put our set from Glastonbury today on the iPlayer later this evening for your viewing pleasure.'
But the group's loyal fanbase was left fuming by the news the performance would not be livestreamed.
One said: 'Kneecap not going to be broadcast live from the BBC today, Jesus wept.'
A second added: 'If the BBC can't broadcast #Glastonbury2025 live, as the licence fee paying public expect, then it's time to give the broadcasting rights to a provider who will. #Kneecap.'
Another fan said: 'So the same BBC that gives a platform for genocide apologists every week, unchallenged by their pathetic 'reporters' will heavily edit KNEECAP'S set today and only show you what they think is relevant.'
A fourth said: 'By trying to ban Kneecap all people are doing is highlighting their message. I dont like Kneecap but this Glasto/BBC charade has been pathetic.'
In an interview with The Guardian newspaper ahead of Glastonbury, Ó hAnnaidh defended their performances as 'satirical'.
'It's a joke. I'm a character. Shit is thrown on stage all the time. If I'm supposed to know every f****** thing that's thrown on stage I'd be in Mensa,' he said.
'I don't know every proscribed organisation - I've got enough s**t to worry about up there. I'm thinking about my next lyric, my next joke, the next drop of a beat.'
Asked about the 'dead Tory' comments, he said it was 'a joke' and 'we're playing characters'.
'It's satirical, it's a f****** joke. And that's not the point,' he said.
'The point is, that (video) wasn't an issue until we said 'Free Palestine' at Coachella. That stuff happened 18 months ago, and nobody batted an eyelid.
'Everybody agreed it was a f****** joke, even people that may have been in the room that didn't agree - it's a laugh, we're all having a bit of craic.
'The point is, and the context is, it all (resurfaced) because of Coachella. That's what we should be questioning, not whether I regret things.'
Ó hAnnaidh added: 'If you believe that what a satirical band who play characters on stage do is more outrageous than the murdering of innocent Palestinians, then you need to give your head a f****** wobble.'
Conservative Party leader Ms Badenoch previously said she thought the BBC 'should not be showing' Kneecap's performance at the festival.
She wrote in a post on X: 'The BBC should not be showing Kneecap propaganda.
'One Kneecap band member is currently on bail, charged under the Terrorism Act.
'As a publicly funded platform, the BBC should not be rewarding extremism.'
Meanwhile in an interview with The Sun, Sir Keir was asked if he thought the trio should perform at Glastonbury, to which he replied: 'No, I don't, and I think we need to come down really clearly on this.
'This is about the threats that shouldn't be made, I won't say too much because there's a court case on, but I don't think that's appropriate.'
Glastonbury founder Sir Michael Eavis this week defended the decision to keep Kneecap in the line-up.
Asked if the festival still stands for something, Sir Michael told Glastonbury Free Press, the festival's resident newspaper: '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!'
Formed in 2017, the group are known for their provocative lyrics in both Irish and English.
Their best-known tracks include Get Your Brits Out, Better Way To Live, featuring Grian Chatten from Fontaines DC, and 3Cag.
