Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis has reiterated the festival’s position on “welcoming everyone”, after calls for Kneecap to be axed from the line-up.
The world-famous festival kicks off this weekend, with Kneecap due to take to the West Holts stage at 4pm on Saturday (June 28).
Eavis and other Worthy Farm organisers have so far kept quiet about the controversy surrounding the Irish rap trio after senior politicians called for the group to be removed from the line-up, following member Mo Chara being charged with a terror offence.
Chara appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court last week where he was met with hundreds of fans and protesters – including Paul Weller – offering their support to him. The charges come after he was filmed displaying a Hezbollah flag on stage last November.
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Politicians from both sides have since come out to condemn the Irish trio, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The PM was asked by The Sun about the group’s upcoming Glastonbury gig and whether he thinks they should be allowed to perform, he responded: “No, I don’t think they should play, 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.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch shares a similar sentiment to the PM, posting on twitter/X: “The BBC should not be showing Kneecap propaganda. One Kneecap member is currently on bail, charged under the Terrorism Act.”
The calls for Kneecap to be removed from the Glastonbury line-up have picked up steam ever since TRNSMT were the first British festival to axe them. However, Glasto’ organisers had remained silent… until now.
When asked on BBC Breakfast for a response to the PM’s comments, Emily Eavis said: “We haven’t responded to that. At the moment we’re just focusing on bringing the best festival to the people who want to come here. We’re incredibly lucky that so many people want to come to Glastonbury, we have millions of people who want to come.”
‘Everyone is welcome here’
Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis spoke to #BBCBreakfast after Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the band Kneecap shouldn’t perform at the Festival, after one of the band was charged with a terror offencehttps://t.co/u1fDIRbSgd pic.twitter.com/jefm3wmkro
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) June 25, 2025
The interviewer then responded, claiming it was “quite a thing” for Starmer to get involved. Eavis responded by saying: “I know, it is, there have been a lot of really heated topics this year, but we remain a platform for many, many artists from all over the world and, you know, everyone is welcome here.”
Despite the pressure from senior politicians, Kneecap are still scheduled to appear this weekend, with their performance even scheduled to be available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
The excitement continues to grow for Glastonbury goers, with the likes of Charli XCX, Loyle Carner, Olivia Rodrigo, The 1975, Neil Young and many, many more all scheduled to perform.
There have also been many rumours surrounding the secret sets this year with Pulp, Lorde and HAIM seemingly the frontrunners to make a surprise appearance. Keep up to date with everything Glastonbury here at mxdwn.co.uk.
