Barclays Faces the Music

Barclays suspended sponsorship of all Live Nation festivals for 2024 – including Download, Latitude and the Isle of Wight – after protests from bands and fans over the bank providing financial services to defence companies supplying Israel.

Southport Friends of Palestine outside Barclays 

The protest group Bands Boycott Barclays said:

“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.”

“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.”

The actions of the UK music community echo wider protests against Barclays by pro-Palestine campaigners. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign has called for a general boycott of the bank over its “grave complicity in Israel’s attacks on Palestinians”, alleging that Barclays “now holds over £2bn in shares, and provides £6.1bn in loans and underwriting” to companies providing weapons systems to Israel.

Sources - BBC, Guardian, Barclays, PSC