BBC cuts live feed for Kneecap Glastonbury performance
The rap trio said the corporation had contacted them hours before they were due to go live to say their performance would be available online on iPlayer from Saturday evening.
However, fans were left unimpressed after the BBC cut the live stream of the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury ahead of Kneecap's set at 4pm on Saturday.
The broadcaster had shown artist Bob Vylan's set before the Irish trio were set to perform, but cut away from the stage after it was announced they were on next.
READ MORE: BBC announces U-turn on Neil Young's headline set at Glastonbury
Earlier on Saturday, a BBC spokesperson said: 'As the broadcast partner, the BBC is bringing audiences extensive music coverage from Glastonbury, with artists booked by the festival organisers.
'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.'
Despite the broadcaster announcing just hours before Kneecap were due to perform that they would not show the set live, fans have taken to social media to vent their frustration over the decision.
One person said: 'BBC really are just gonna cut the feed for Kneecap. Completely unprecedented.'
A second added: 'We cut the live feed for Kneecap at Glastonbury and we mute the boos for Israel at Eurovision. You see how it works yet?'
A third person said: 'Pretty cowardly of the BBC and Tim Davie not to livestream Kneecap.'
Meanwhile, with huge crowds building outside the West Holts Stage at Worthy Farm almost an hour before the gig was due to take place, the festival decided to close off the stage to try and prevent overcrowding, it has been reported.
Despite the cut-off, the stage at the festival was still very much full, with a sea of Irish and Palestinian flags being flown above the thousands of fans.
Mo Chara declared to the crowd, 'Glastonbury, I'm a free man!' after recently being charged under the UK Terrorism Act.
His comments come after he, real name Liam Og O hAnnaidh, 27, 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.
Last week, the rapper, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was cheered by hundreds of supporters as he arrived with bandmates Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh at Westminster Magistrates' Court in Free Mo Chara T-shirts.
He was released on unconditional bail until his next hearing at the same court on August 20.
Following the calls from politicians, including the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, for the trio not to perform at the festival, the BBC's coverage of Kneecap's performance has been at the centre of much speculation.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch also said the BBC 'should not be showing' the trio's set in a post on social media last week.
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Daily Mail
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Neil Young performs his headline set at Glastonbury to a 'sparse' crowd after making major U-turn and allowing performance to be broadcast on BBC
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BBC News
38 minutes ago
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Jacky Jhaj: How was a paedophile able to hire Disneyland?
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Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Glastonbury viewers make same complaint about Neil Young 60 seconds in
Neil Young headlined the Pyramid Stage on day two of the festival, but viewers were left struggling to hear him properly as they complained about the sound and audio As the sun set on Glastonbury Festival's Saturday, legendary headliner Neil Young took centre stage on the iconic Pyramid Stage. Over 200,000 revellers have descended upon Worthy Farm this weekend, but Saturday, June 28 wasn't without its hitches amidst the numerous musical highlights. In the lead-up to the festival, Belfast-based group Kneecap found themselves at the centre of controversy, with the BBC opting not to broadcast their performance live. This decision came after band member Liam Og O hAnnaidh made headlines following a charge of a terror offence, allegedly displaying a flag in support of the proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah and declaring "up Hamas, up Hezbollah" during a gig in November last year A spokesperson for the BBC explained: "As the broadcast partner, the BBC is bringing audiences extensive music coverage from Glastonbury, with artists booked by the festival organisers. While 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." In another unexpected turn of events, Deftones were forced to pull out of their highly anticipated primetime slot, with rapper Skepta stepping in as a last-minute replacement, reports the Manchester Evening News. Meanwhile, Pulp made a triumphant return to Glastonbury after a 30-year absence, taking to the stage under the secret moniker Patchwork to surprise and delight fans. Neil Young took centre stage on the Pyramid Stage while Charli XCX rocked the Other Stage. The 79 year old rock legend sparked a bit of a stir when he "pulled out" of Glastonbury, stating at the time: "We were told that BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in. It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being." However, the musician later withdrew his earlier remarks, clarifying that there had been an "error in information" and expressing that he's "looking forward" to playing at the festival. Those tuning in from home shared a common gripe about the audio during Neil's set, complaining that they couldn't hear him properly. On X (formerly known as Twitter), @mostly_grumpy commented: "Neil Young has 60+ years in showbusiness but hasn't mastered singing into a microphone". Another viewer, @rjc99999, chimed in with: "someone tell Neil Young to sing into a microphone", while @Cheewence responded: "Sound needs turning up like ffs, he's shredding that axe and you can hardly hear it".
