Irish rap trio Kneecap lead Glastonbury crowd chant against Keir Starmer
Irish rap trio Kneecap lead Glastonbury crowd chant against Keir Starmer
The Belfast rap group were performing at the festival on Worthy Farm on Saturday afternoon
DJ Provaí of Kneecap peforms on the West Holts stage during day four of Glastonbury festival 2025 at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 28, 2025
(Image: WireImage )
Irish rap trio Kneecap led crowds in chants of "f*** Keir Starmer" during their set at Glastonbury festival. The Belfast rap group were performing at the festival on Saturday afternoon, June 28.
It comes after the music group hit the headlines after its member, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence. In the run up to the festival, several politicians including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for Kneecap to be removed from the line-up.
When asked by The Sun if the band should perform at the Worthy Farm festival in Somerset, the Prime Minister said: "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."
During their performance on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury, member Naoise O Caireallain, who performs under the name Moglai Bap, said: "The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn't want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer."
The performer also expressed gratitude to the Eavis family, who he said had "stood strong" amid calls for the organisers to drop them from the line-up.
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Festival goers watch Kneecap perform on the West Holts stage
(Image: WireImage )
The band also led crowds in chants of "Free Palestine", with Mo Chara commenting on the sheer number of flags at the festival.
27-year-old Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh wore a keffiyeh during the set, while member JJ O Dochartaigh, who performs under the name DJ Provai, wore his signature tri-coloured balaclava as well as a T-shirt that said: "We are all Palestine Action" in reference to the campaign group, which the UK Government has controversially proposed to ban.
Before the trio walked onto the stage, news broadcasts criticising them were played from a sound system, which received boos from the festival audience.
The trio opened with the song Better Way To Live from their 2024 album Fine Art and also performed tracks including Get Your Brits Out and Hood.
The crowd during Kneecap's performance on Saturday, June 28
(Image: PA )
According to PA, access to the area surrounding the West Holts Stage was closed around 45 minutes before their performance after groups of fans arrived to form a sea of Irish and Palestinian flags.
Rap punk duo Bob Vylan performed on the stage before Kneecap and led the crowd in chants of "Free, free Palestine" and "Death, death to the IDF".
Ahead of their performance on Saturday, the BBC confirmed it would not be live streaming their set, but confirmed the performance could be shown on demand later in the day.
Kneecap perform
(Image: WireImage )
In a statement, the BBC said: "Whilst 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."
Kneecap performing on the West Holts Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset
(Image: PA )
In response, 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."
During their set Mo Chara said: "The BBC editor is going to have some job."
Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah, while saying "up Hamas, up Hezbollah" at a gig in November last year.
On June 18, the rapper was cheered by hundreds of supporters as he arrived with bandmates O Caireallain and O Dochartaigh at Westminster Magistrates' Court in Free Mo Chara T-shirts.
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He was released on unconditional bail until the next hearing at the same court on August 20.
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