Latitude, Download and the Isle of Wight festival have all dropped Barclays as a sponsor of the festivals amid a boycott from various bands. This boycott came as a result of Barclays’ financial ties to defence companies supplying the Israeli military. The boycott is part of the Bands Boycott Barclays movement which is a collective of over 1000 musicians and music industry professionals who, according to their Instagram profile, are “using our cultural power to boycott Barclays in solidarity with Palestine.”
According to the Guardian, Barclays have a 5-year sponsorship deal that was signed last year with Live nation and it is understood that this does not affect the whole duration of the contract.
a spokesperson from Live nation, who are the company which run these festivals, has told the Guardian that “Following discussion with artists, we have agreed with Barclays that they will step back from sponsorship of our festivals.”
A spokesperson for Barclays told the Guardian that “Barclays was asked and has agreed to suspend participation in the remaining Live Nation festivals in 2024. Barclays customers who hold tickets to these festivals are not affected and their tickets remain valid. The protesters’ agenda is to have Barclays debank defence companies which is a sector we remain committed to as an essential part of keeping this country and our allies safe.”
This all follows a huge boycott of Brighton festival, The Great Escape, last month where over 120 artists pulled out of the festival because of their sponsorship from Barclaycard and the move has since snowballed having an effect on Latitude, Download and Isle of Wight festivals, with 17 acts pulling out of Latitude alone so far which is set to take place at the end of July. Bands such as Scowl, Pest Control and Ithaca have all withdrawn for Download’s line-up taking place this weekend.
A spokesperson for Bands Boycott Barclays has said that “This is a victory for the Palestinian-led global BDS movement. As musicians, we were horrified that our music festivals were partnered with Barclays, who are complicit in the genocide in Gaza through investment, loans and underwriting of arms companies supplying the Israeli military. Hundreds of artists have taken action this summer to make it clear that this is morally reprehensible, and we are glad we have been heard.”
They further highlighted their message to Barclays “Our demand to Barclays is simple: divest from the genocide or face further boycotts. Boycotting Barclays, also Europe’s primary funder of fossil fuels, is the minimum we can do to call for change.”
Enter Shikari, who played at Download earlier today, came out via Instagram in response to Barclays withdrawing their sponsorship from this year’s festival: “There has been mounting pressure for bands to drop out of Download festival due to the involvement of Barclays Bank.”
“We have been in talks with Download themselves, expressing our serious objection at Barclays involvement. We have considered all options, and along with other artists have been working tirelessly on this.”
“We don’t believe in rushed reactions and always want the best outcome for all involved. Thanks to this collective pressure we now believe we have achieved that – Barclays have pulled out of Download Festival.”
