Pillow Queens become first band to boycott Latitude 2024 over sponsor Barclays ties to Israel

Lankum have said they have signed a letter asking Latitude to drop Barclays as a sponsor amid the current boycott of the bank over its ties to companies who are supplying weapons and military technology to Israel.Numerous acts have already pulled out of the Henham Park festival over its sponsorship by Barclays, including CMAT, Pillow Queens, Mui Zyu and Georgia Ruth. Comedians Joanne McNally and Alexandra Haddow have also dropped out.Now, Lankum have lent their voices to the conversation by revealing that they have signed a letter to Latitude over the issue, suggesting that the festival itself will be subject to acts taking a collective stand.“In relation to the Barclays sponsorship of Latitude Festival, we have signed a letter asking the festival to drop the bank due to their links with weapons firms involved in the genocide in Palestine,” they wrote in a statement.“We have also been working behind the scenes with a number of the acts scheduled to play at the festival as we firmly believe that collective action is the most effective action.“Hopefully we will have more news on this soon.”“Love and solidarity, Cormac, Daragh, Ian and Radie.”In relation to the Barclays sponsorship of Latitude Festival, we have signed a letter asking the festival to drop the bank due to their links with weapons firms involved in the genocide in Palestine.We have also been working behind the scenes with a number of the acts… pic.twitter.com/DIGdmhDxIp— LANKUM (@LankumDublin) June 12, 2024The announcement of artists pulling out of Latitude comes shortly after the major boycott of The Great Escape in Brighton last month, also due to its ties with Barclays.

Download 2024 yesterday (June 10) over its partnership with Barclays Bank – which has ties to Israel – have announced a show together in Birmingham to raise money for Palestine.Pest Control were the first band to pull out of the Donington Park festival, saying that they would not “take part in an event whose sponsor profits from facilitating a genocide.” Later on, Scowl, Speed and Zulu all followed suit, with Scowl revealing that Pest Control had alerted them to the issue.This Friday! A benefit for Palestine

Culture Club have announced details of a 2024 tour across the UK and Ireland, set to celebrate their first two studio albums. Find ticket details below.The upcoming gigs will take place across December, and see Boy George and co.

Latitude 2024 due to the festival’s sponsorship with Barclays and its ties to Israel.They are the two leading names when it comes to the comedians who are boycotting this year’s edition of the event, and follow numerous musical acts who are refusing to perform while it is still sponsored by the bank.Joanne McNally announced her withdrawal from the festival last week, when she shared an update online. She was set to close the comedy tent at Latitude 2024, which will be held at Henham Park in Suffolk between July 25 and 28.“I’m getting messages today about me performing at Latitude when it’s being sponsored by Barclays,” she began on Instagram (via Goss.ie).

Scowl, Speed and Zulu have become the latest bands to pull out of Download 2024 over its partnership with Barclays and the bank’s ties to Israel.The news follows a similar move from Leeds hardcore band Pest Control who announced they would be pulling out earlier today (June 10), saying that they would not “take part in an event whose sponsor profits from facilitating a genocide.”In a statement posted to their social media, Scowl wrote: “We will not be playing Download fest this year due to Barclays Bank sponsorship of the event and Barclays’ connection to Israel and the genocide Israel is committing in Palestine.“Free Palestine!”They directed fans to the Bands Boycott Barclays campaign for more information and thanked Pest Control “for bringing this to our attention”.Meanwhile, Speed wrote on their social media accounts: “SPEED will no longer be playing Download Festival this Friday June 14 due to the recent news of Barclays Banks sponsorship of the event and their involvement in the war in Gaza.”Zulu announced they would be dropping out shortly after. In their statement, they said: “We will not be playing Download Festival as we just got word about Barclays Bank and their sponsorship of the fest.

Pest Control have pulled out of Download 2024 over its sponsorship with Barclays and the bank’s ties to Israel.The band took to their official Instagram to share a statement explaining why they would be boycotting the annual festival in Donnington. “We have made the decision to pull out of our upcoming shows at Download festival this week (Wednesday 12th June and Sunday 16th June),” began their statement.They explained that they are taking part in the boycott against Barclays bank who are sponsoring the music festival.

Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).The campaign has called for the boycott amidst the ongoing developments in the Israel-Palestine conflict, which recently saw Israel carry out an airstrike operation in Rafah. The airstrike was estimated to have killed at least 37 people between May 27-28, according to The Associated Press.They also reported the attack caused several tents to catch fire, killing more residents in Rafah, which is home to thousands of displaced Palestinians from all over the Gaza Strip.Now, music organisations, labels and promoters such as Dark Entries, Techno Queers, Dweller, Noise Not Music, Night Slugs, 8-ball community, Gold Bolus Recordings, NYC Noise, FIST and many more have committed themselves to the boycott.PACBI is an offshoot of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS), which was behind the huge wave of drop-outs from The Great Escape and Latitude Festival this year.

Kneecap have discussed their reasons for not participating in the boycott of The Great Escape last month.Over 100 artists pulled out of the Brighton festival over its sponsorship by Barclays, which has been accused of financial ties to companies arming Israel. However, the bank claims it is “trading in shares of listed companies in response to client instruction or demand”.The Irish rap trio’s decision was caused some controversy online given that they have always taken a stand against what they call Israel’s “occupation and genocide” of Gaza.They helped to raise nearly £100,000 for a volunteer gym in the Aida Refugee Camp in Palestine and spoken publicly about it via social media and a message shared after a high-profile appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. They have also made headlines for ignoring Irish public broadcaster RTÉ’s requests to not wear pro-Palestine badges.Kneecap did participate in the boycott of SXSW (after the UK government withdrew arts funding to get them to get there; resulting in a legal battle) after discovering the US military was supporting the festival.

EXCLUSIVE: Kartoon Studios has struck its first deal with an AI dubbing platform.

Latitude festival over its sponsorship with Barclays and the bank’s ties to Israel.Zyu shared a statement on her official Instagram account explaining her decision to boycott the Suffolk Music Festival. “The festival is sponsored by Barclays who are continuing to profit from the genocide in Palestine,” began her statement.She continued: “Barclays are on the BDS Movement’s boycott list.

Love Island viewers were left stunned by Joey Essex for the same reason - and not just for his entrance into the villa. The former The Only Way is Essex star was part of a surprise twist during the ITV dating show's 2024 series opener on Monday night (June 3).

Liam Gallagher, The Chemical Brothers, Placebo, The Prodigy, and Kasabian.A post shared by Atlas Festival (@atlasweekend)In other Ukraine news, former Eurovision winner Jamala recently stressed the importance of artists to continue to be “loud and creative” in their attempts to keep attention on Russia’s campaign in the country.“There are many wars now in the world and, of course, it is not easy to constantly keep attention on yourself so that people do not get tired of our war,” she told PA Media when explaining why she believed Ukraine “cannot afford” to boycott Eurovision over the controversial decision to allow Israel to compete.“But that is our task, people who remain in Ukraine, people who are fighting, to be as loud and creative … this is the task of artists to find new ways of how to reveal and show their country.”She went on to encourage Ukraine’s 2024 entry, Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil, to give as many interviews on the subject as possible, and “talk about the fact that the war in Ukraine continues”.Jamala herself was placed on Russia’s wanted list last year for “violating a criminal law”. They allege that she spread false information about the Russian military and the ongoing fighting in Ukraine, after a law was adopted which banned such activity in 2022.The war is the largest such assault on a European country since World War II.

A Greater Manchester Barclays branch has been taped off by police after its windows have been smashed and walls daubed with red paint.

Hollywood Reporter.In January, UNRWA announced it had fired nine of its 12 staffers who Israel alleged were involved in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that left roughly 1,200 dead, with another 253 kidnapped.A damning Israeli dossier, compiled through interrogations of Hamas terrorists and documents found in Gaza, estimated roughly 1,200 of UNRWA’s staffers had ties to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

EXCLUSIVE: Caroline Chikezie (Power Book II: Ghost) and Princess Adenike (Nanny) are leading indie short film A Beauty Supply In Queens, a drama based on the true story of a Nigerian family who opened one of the first Black-owned beauty supply stores in Jamaica, Queens, NY, ten years ago.

CMAT has announced that she has pulled out of Latitude 2024 over the festival’s sponsorship with Barclays and its ties to Israel.The Irish singer-songwriter took to her official Instagram account to share a statement explaining why she had decided to not perform at the Suffolk Music Festival. She used a photo of her attending the festival back in 2021 as the background photo of her post.She began her statement by pointing out how Barclays is the festival’s main sponsor, and discussing its connections to ongoing war in Gaza.“You may or may not be aware, but Latitude’s main sponsor is Barclays bank, who have been revealed to I have increased their financing of various companies who are supplying weapons and military technology to Israel.

Skepta has confirmed that he will be ending his sponsorship deal with Puma over the company’s ties to Israel.The rapper first became a brand ambassador for Puma in 2022 for a clothing and footwear line. He later partnered with them again for the ‘Skope Forever’ collection earlier this year.However, Skepta has now confirmed in a post on X/Twitter that his deal with the sports brand will terminate by August.“They know how I feel, I speak my mind.

The Great Escape Festival 2024 line-up have pulled out of the festival with over 125 artists joining the boycott, a number of the acts have spoken to NME about their decision and showing solidarity with Palestine.The Great Escape kicked off last night (May 15), but every artist booked to play the opening party canceled their appearance at the festival, alongside more than 100 others including Picture Parlour, Miso Extra and Alfie Templeman – while Big Special will be playing but donating their fee from the festival to the Palestine Child Relief fund.Festival sponsors Barclays are accused of investing in a number of companies that supply arms to Israel, with over 35,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza since the historic conflict escalated last year, with Hamas committing the October 7 attacks. The bank also sponsors a number of other festivals, including Latitude, Download and Isle Of Wight.We've pulled out of this year's @thegreatescape due to their ongoing partnership with Barclays- who have, and still are, investing billions in arms companies involved in the genocide on Palestinians.

Big Special have shared a statement explaining why they have decided to play The Great Escape amidst the boycott.The gothic Black Country duo – comprised of Joe Hicklin and Callum Moloney – took to their official Instagram account to explain why they will go ahead with performing at this year’s edition of the Brighton-based music festival.The 2024 event – which showcases new and rising artists – is due to take place across various music venues in Brighton from today (May 15) until Saturday (18).The Great Escape is sponsored by Barclays, which has been a source of controversy amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza because of the bank’s financial investment in companies that supply arms to Israel.“We will still be performing at The great escape this week and donating our fee to the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, of which our label will also match the donation. Here is our statement,” wrote the duo in an Instagram post.A post shared by BIG SPECIAL (@bigspecial_)“There’s been a lot of chat about The Great Escape festival recently and their sponsorship from Barclays, who are helping fund arms sales to Israel, weapons being used to commit war crimes against the Palestinian people.“A lot of bands have boycotted the event in solidarity.

Cannes parallel section Critics’ Week opens Wednesday with French director Jonathan Millet’s psychological manhunt thriller Ghost Trail (Les Fantômes), starring Adam Bessa as man in in pursuit of a faceless, former torturer.