The Mary Wallopers were taken off stage on Friday afternoon at Victorious Festival in Portsmouth.
During their first song, after no more than two minutes, a Palestinian flag that they were displaying as part of their stage set-up was removed by a member of the stage crew, causing them to halt the song and retrieve the flag.
They addressed the audience, observing that they were told they would be cut if they played with the flag on stage. They urged everyone to leave and then chanted ‘Free, free Palestine’ at which point they had their microphone cut, much to the consternation of the crowd.
The band remained on stage for many minutes more, standing together and displaying the flag, but had no further means of having their message heard. Eventually, they left the stage and the band’s name was taken off the screen at the back of the stage, suggesting that the set was over.
The crowd stayed in place, many chanting “Let them play” and a few launching pints in the direction of the Common Stage.
A spokesperson for the festival subsequently issued a statement stating, “We spoke to the artist before the performance regarding the festival’s long-standing policy of not allowing flags of any kind at the event, but that we respect their right to express their views during the show.
“Although a flag was displayed on stage contrary to our policy, and this was raised with the artist’s crew, the show was not ended at this point, and it was the artist’s decision to stop the song.
“The decision by the event management to cut the sound and end the performance was only taken after the band used a chant which is widely understood to have a discriminatory context.
“To be clear, we respect the right of artists to use their platform to express their views within the inclusive nature of the event and it was not the band’s call to ‘Free Palestine’ which resulted in this outcome.”
‘Free Palestine’ was heard earlier on the Common Stage in Sprints’ set and from Madness when headlining the Castle Stage. Suggs also clearly disagreed with the festival’s decision to censor The Mary Wallopers earlier.
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