Kneecap may be dropped from lineup at Wythenshawe Park in Manchester

The Guardian

10 hours ago

The Irish hip-hop band Kneecap may be dropped from the lineup at Wythenshawe Park in Manchester, where they are due to support Fontaines DC in August.
It is understood that talks are in progress between Manchester city council, which runs the park, and the concert's promoter about whether the band should be pulled from the lineup, apparently over 'safety concerns'.
The council is being tight-lipped about the continuing discussions but said it was speaking to 'key stakeholders' to ensure 'the event can take place safely'.
The gig is due to take place on 15 August, with the Leeds-based band English Teacher also on the lineup. A similar concert last weekend, where Kneecap supported the Dublin band Fontaines DC in Finsbury Park in north London, passed without incident.
'As with any major event being held in one of our parks, we are in regular discussions with the key stakeholders involved to ensure the event concerned can take place safely and effectively,' a Manchester city council spokesperson said.
Before Kneecap's Glastonbury appearance, Keir Starmer said it was 'not appropriate' for the band to play the festival, after one of its members, Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence, accused of displaying a flag at a gig in support of the banned terror group Hezbollah.
'I think we need to come down really clearly on this,' Starmer told the Sun. 'I won't say too much, because there's a court case on, but I don't think that's appropriate.'
However, the Eavis family, who run Glastonbury, did not pull the band, and Kneecap played to a packed-out crowd on the West Holts stage on the Saturday afternoon, with the area closed off 45 minutes before the set began owing to crowd numbers.
The group were due to play at the TRNSMT festival in Glasgow this weekend, but were pulled from the lineup following concerns raised by police. The trio instead played a replacement gig at the city's O2 Academy earlier this week, which sold out in 80 seconds.
Another band, Bob Vylan, were pulled from the Radar festival in Greater Manchester earlier this month after leading chants of 'death to the IDF' during their Glastonbury set.
'We didn't want to pull them, it was out of our hands, sometimes things are bigger than you are,' one of the festival's co-organisers, Catherine Jackson-Smith, stold the podcast 2 Promoters, 1 Pod.
It is understood that the band's appearance at the festival had been discussed at a meeting of the council's safety advisory group, which also includes representatives from the police and other emergency services.
'Council officers were involved in discussions with police and the venue about concerns surrounding the planned performance of Bob Vylan at Victoria Warehouse,' a spokesperson for Trafford council said. 'We were advised that the promoter cancelled the act and we believe that this was the right decision.'
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This week, an advert from Kneecap showcasing their Wembley Arena show in September was banned from running on the Transport for London (TfL) network.
In a post on Instagram, the band said: 'We've been banned from advertising on the London tube. How petty can political policing and interference get. After using the tube to advertise loads of times for gigs, records and our movie, all without issue.'
The post added: 'Speak out against genocide and they'll use every single angle they can to silence you.'
TfL confirmed that the banned advert featured only the band's name and logo – a face wearing a balaclava – alongside the date and venue of the gig.
'All adverts submitted for display on our network are reviewed on a case-by-case basis,' a TfL spokesperson said. 'Having given this very careful consideration, this advert was rejected as it was deemed that running it would likely cause widespread or serious offence to reasonable members of the public.'
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