The organisation is run by Oxford University students and has existed since 1823. The Debate Society has previously hosted an illustrious guestlist of world leaders in politics, popular culture and academia. Previous musical guests include Sir Elton John, Hozier, Michael Jackson, Shakira, Jonny Marr of The Smiths and many more. 

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The Debate Society seeks to bring a unique and wide-ranging array of guests for their members to listen to as well as challenge. On their official site they state, they have “been part of some of the biggest and most important discussions to shape world history.”

Casablancas’ appearance comes on the heels of The Stroke’s politically charged Coachella set. The band closed their set with a montage which took aim at the CIA and the United State’s government. Among the images shown was one of Martin Luther King Jr. accompanied by text which read “US Govt found guilty of his murder in civil trial.” Casablancas also made digs against Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, wearing a shirt with the Amazon logo, replaced with the word “crime.” 

The Oxford Union Debate Society described The Strokes as “one of the most influential rock bands of the 21st century” and that Casablancas “helped redefine guitar music in the early 2000s.” It is clear Casablancas does not take his industry position for granted, he frequently uses the notoriety to make bold and unflinching statements about some of the world’s most powerful figures. In 2024 he spoke to NME about his frustrations with billionaires, calling them, “‘bad guy’ people.” He said their “main weapon” is “distraction.” He said “the fact we can’t unchain ourselves from this song or [stop being] hypnotised by this nonsense is the biggest challenge and biggest confusion I have.” This intrepidity is sure to be welcomed and perhaps challenged by the Debate Society’s members. 

This appearance comes in anticipation of The Stroke’s new album, ‘Reality Awaits’ due to release June 26. It will be the band’s first release 2020. Shortly after announcing the album, the band announced the ‘Reality Awaits The World’ Tour, beginning this summer. The tour will stretch into this coming fall and visit the North America, Europe, Japan and the UK. This marks the The Strokes first full UK/IE Tour in 20 years. They will visit the O2 Arena in London, Manchester’s Co-op Arena, Dublin’s 3Arena and more this autumn. Tickets can be found here.   

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Casablancas will appear at the University of Oxford tomorrow, Thursday 28 May at 4:30 PM. Non-members are able to attend the event as guests of Union members for a fee of £12.50. 

The big winners this year are Sam Fender, for Songwriter of the Year, Rosalía for International Songwriter of the Year, Lola Young for PRS Most Performed Work (for her single ‘Messy’) and CMAT for Best Album (‘Euro-Country’). 

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Jacob Alon, a skyrocketing Scottish-born singer-songwriter, took home 2 awards last night. Their song ‘Don’t Fall Asleep’ won Best Song Musically and Lyrically, and they also won the Rising Star award. 

Honorees for the night included George Michael and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. Both were honored with Academy Fellowships. 

For Michael’s posthumous honor, his former Wham! bandmate, Andrew Ridgeley accepted the award. Ridegely said of the acceptance on behalf of Michael, “it’s an honour and a privilege to bear witness to his work full stop, and to accept on his behalf, he would have been immensely proud to be recognised by the academy in this way, to be placed amongst some of the finest songwriters.” 

Yorke’s honor was presented by surprise guest, Harry Styles. He said Radiohead is his “favourite band.” He also said Yorke “has time and time again shown us what the future sounds like,” calling him a “restless creative” and “an artist in its truest form.” 

Other winners include Kano for the Visionary Award, which recognises an artist who’s “musical vision has made a clear impact on fellow creators.” Calvin Harris picked up the Icon award for his work across his 15 year career. And Lily Allen won the award for Outstanding Song Collection which recognises an artist’s entire catalog of songs. 

CMAT took home Best Album for her 2025 work, ‘Euro-Country.’ The Ivors Academy commended the work, saying, “CMAT blends confessional songwriting with sharp humour, vivid storytelling, and social commentary while exploring themes of identity, relationships, and modern anxieties through a personal lens.” ‘Euro-Country’  is CMAT’s third album. It was nominated for the 2025 Mercury Prize as well as peaking at Number 1 on the Irish Albums and UK Independent Albums Charts. See her acceptance speech below.   

 

 

 

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Rosalía won International Songwriter of the Year. The Ivors Academy noted her work on 2025’s ‘LUX’  as “not only a bold and innovative artistic step forward for Rosalía, but a revelatory project that transcended language and genre barriers.” This marks Rosalía’s first Ivor Novello Award. 

 Elton John was recognized at the Ivors Academy’s first-ever president. The position is described as being “reserved for individuals who have reached the pinnacle of their songwriting or composing profession and are committed to giving back by supporting the community and advancing the Academy’s mission to protect the future of music.” In his speech, John told the audience, made up of some of the industry’s most prestigious songwriters, “No matter what kind of music you write, it’s yours, you own it… It came from your soul, it means a hell of a lot to you. And don’t let people take it away from you, especially AI.”

See the complete list of winners at the 2026 Ivor Novello Awards here. Listen to both winners and nominees of the awards at Amazon Music’s Ivors 2026 playlist, below. 

The festivals, hosted by Live Nation, have been live streamed by Hulu for the past six years. But 2026 marks the first time that UK Disney+ subscribers will be able to watch the iconic festivals simultaneously, with Disney+’s global reach.  “Music festivals are among the most electric, can’t-miss moments in culture, and now Disney+ and Hulu subscribers around the world can experience the excitement,” said Lauren Tempest, Head of Content Planning & Partnerships, DTC at The Walt Disney Company. “As we continue to extend our live offerings, we remain committed to bringing fans the biggest, most iconic moments right as they happen, and are thrilled to bring that vision to life with Live Nation.”

Disney+ aims to pull international streaming fans into the thick of the action. They are set to release an array of artist interviews, behind-the-scenes content and festival highlights along with the live-streamed performances. 

Kevin Chernett, EVP, Head of Global Media Partnerships at Live Nation said, “Music festivals used to be experiences reserved for the people who could physically be there. Now they’re becoming global live moments that fans want to experience together in real time, no matter where they are in the world. Expanding this partnership with Disney+ and Hulu allows these festivals to reach music fans at an entirely different scale.”

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First up of the three festivals is Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival from 11-14 June. It takes place annually on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, and saw 70,000 attendees in 2024. Some of the headlining names this year include The Strokes, Skrillex, Noah Kahan and Rufus De Sol. British acts on the bill include indie rockers, Wet Leg, electronic musician Four Tet and singer-songwriter Rachel Chinouriri, as well as singer and composer, Blood Orange.    Next is Chicago based Lollapalooza from 30 July to 2 August. Hosting most alternative and rock acts, the festival boasts around 40,000 attendees annually. Olivia Dean and Charli XCX are among the headliners for 2026. They are joined by Lorde, The Smashing Pumpkins, John Summit, Jennie, Tate McRae and The XX. Many UK artists are on the bill for this year including Wet Leg, Blood Orange, Wolf Alice, Jim Legxacy, CMAT, kwn, Beabadoobee and Cruz Beckham and the Breakers. 

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Finally, rounding out the trio is autumn-set Austin City Limits. The Texas-based festival will be celebrating its 25^th year across two weekends: 2-4 October and 9-11 October. Charli XCX is also among the headliners, she is joined by Lola Young, Skrillex, Kings of Leon, Rufus De Sol, Lorde and Twenty One Pilots as well as many more. Other acts from the UK set to perform there include Paris Paloma, CMAT, Suki Waterhouse and Blood Orange. 

Disney+ has stated additional details about the livestreams will be made available ahead of each festival. 

Beginning in May 2027 and running through the summer, the anniversary series promises to include multi-night residencies, special one-off performances as well as exclusive shows from up-and-coming acts as well as icons. 

British singer-songwriter, Maisie Peters, is the first artist announced for the run of shows next year. She will perform her debut headline set at the O2 Arena on May 8 2027. The announcement was posted to their Instagram this morning (May 15), with a video of Peters atop the iconic London venue. 

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The O2 says Peters “represents the next generation of talent to take to The O2 stage, ushering in a new era of headliners and reflecting the venue’s ongoing commitment in presenting artists from grassroots to the global stage.”

Peters says being the first artist announced is “such an honour.” In her Instagram post, Peters further explained her gratitude “I never take for granted the ability to sell 50 tickets, let alone 15000 and so this really does feel like the milestone of all milestones, and I just couldn’t be prouder of myself and my team.” 

Steve Sayer, GM of the O2 Arena and SVP spoke to MusicWeek about the anniversary programming, saying the O2 team sees this as “a real opportunity to set the venue up for more success for the next 10 to 20 years.” He says the O2 is “at the top of [their] game” and that they have “invested heavily in the venue and the experience of the artists, the fans and our premium guests.” 

The O2 Arena hosts over 200 events annually, including live music concerts, award ceremonies and sporting events. Since opening in June 2007, it has hosted over 3,000 events. The arena is run by AEG and their partnership with O2 has resulted in over 4 million Priority Tickets sold to fans via their Priority Platform. 

Gareth Griffiths, Director of Partnerships and Sponsorships for Virgin O2 Media says, “We couldn’t be prouder of our partnership with AEG and everything we have achieved together at The O2 in London – countless memories made at shows which have shaped music and entertainment as we know it, putting the fan at the centre of the experience every step of the way. Now, we look towards the future and artists like Maisie Peters who are at the top of their game and will truly define live music for the next twenty years; the perfect first artist to celebrate this milestone with us next year.”

Sayer told MusicWeek booking Peters was deliberate: “ we intentionally wanted to book and work with those first-time headliners that are breaking through. The industry has had incredible success over the last three or four years with female artists selling out arenas, selling out stadiums and headlining festivals, and The O2 has been at the forefront of that. So it was definitely a conscious programming decision to ensure the first headline artist was fully representative of what The O2 is world famous for, and what’s really fuelling the growth in the industry right now.”

Several other names are due to be announced for the O2 Arena’s anniversary summer. Until then, tickets for Maisie Peters 2027 O2 Arena debut go on sale Friday May 22 at 10 am. Priority tickets will be available for Virgin and O2 users from Wednesday May 20 at 10 am. 

It is set to take place at the recently opened British Airways ARC venue. The residency opens on September 23 and continues on September 24, 27, 28 and 29. 

Morrison will be the first artist to complete a residency at the new British Airways ARC. It will officially open on June 16, located above the existing west exhibition hall in the Olympia, London. The venue is operated by AEG Presents. 

Lucy Noble, SVP UK Venues at AEG Presents expressed her excitement for Morrison’s forthcoming residency: “We are thrilled to welcome Van Morrison as the very first artist to have a residency at our brand-new venue. The shows are set to be incredible.” 

Morrison’s residency comes after he was recently awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Jazz FM Awards 2026. The ceremony took place in March this year where he performed his cover of Junior Wells’ ‘Snatch It Back And Hold It’ from Morrison’s 2026 album ‘Somebody Tried To Sell Me A Bridge.’  

Commenting on the Lifetime Achievement Award, Morrison said, “jazz and blues have always been at the heart of the music I love and the music I make. I’ve been fortunate to spend my life doing what I believe in, and it’s an honour to receive this recognition from Jazz FM.” 

‘Somebody Tried To Sell Me A Bridge’ was released in January this year and sees Morrison return to jazz and blues. The album features covers of icons such as B.B. King and Buddy Guy as well as original tracks. 

The London residency is not the only live appearance Morrison will be making. He is set to headline at the 60^th Montreux Jazz Festival this July alongside RAYE, Lewis Capaldi, Pinkpantheress and more. And he will also appear at Holland International Blues Festival in June. 

But the British Airways ARC shows are set to be a more intimate showing for Morrison. The venue has a capacity of only 3,800, and all of the shows will be completely seated. 

Other names already booked for the yet-to-be-opened British Airways ARC include Self Esteem (playing two nights, including the opening night, June 16), McFly, Zac Brown and Khalid. After Morrison’s residency, The British Airways ARC will have another jazz showing thanks to its programming partnership with the EFG London Jazz Festival. November 21 will see Branford Marsalis and Dianne Reeves Celebrate John Coltrane. 

Lucy Noble said, “We are very proud of our newest venue and to have this line-up of the first incredible artists set to play is a fantastic way to begin the British Airways ARC story. When fans come to see shows at British Airways ARC they are going to be able to enjoy world-class facilities across everything from sound to seating and we really can’t wait to open the doors” 

Tickets for Van Morrison’s London residency go on presale for AmericanExpress cardmembers on 9am Wednesday May 13. British Airways ARC is offering exclusive early ticket access from 9am Thursday May 14. Sign up to their newsletter at britishairwaysarc.co.uk for access. 

General ticket sale begins Friday May 15 at 9am. 

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A spokesperson for Shindig Festival said, “we are taking this process seriously and are working closely with our production teams, the artist and relevant authorities to ensure robust measures are in place.” Wiltshire councillor Paul Sample has said the request for review was submitted by an unknown party but that it had been made “on the grounds of the prevention of crime and disorder and public safety.”

This potential review comes after Bob Vylan’s contentious set at Glastonbury last year. During the set, frontman Bobby Vylan led the crowd in chanting “death, death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces].” The comments were condemned by Prime Minister Kier Starmer, who called it “appalling hate speech.”

The performance was the subject of an investigation by the Avon and Somerset Police, but the case was dropped in December. The force said the chanting “[did] not meet the criminal threshold outlined by the CPS for any person to be prosecuted.”

After this, Bob Vylan said in a statement the investigation was “never warranted,” saying their set was “not hateful” but intended to be a “display of solidarity with the Palestinian people.”

Since their Glastonbury set, Bob Vylan has had multiple international shows cancelled, including Radar Festival in Germany. The duo had their US visas revoked ahead of a tour set to take place there. And The Standard also reported they were dropped from their talent agency, United Talent Agency, though UTA never acknowledged this. 

Shindig Festival announced Bob Vylan as headliners in February. They called the duo “one of the most vital, fearless and electrifying live acts in the UK right now.” They went on to say, “We believe art should challenge as well as unite. This will be powerful. This will be loud. And above all, it will be Shindig.” 

This week, a spokesperson for Shindig told the Local Democracy Reporting Service “clear performance conditions” had been agreed upon with Bob Vylan, amid the potential license review. They added the festival was completing “enhanced planning within [their] event management framework, including specific risk assessments, security measures, and the ability to intervene immediately if required.” Organisers assured that they “are confident the event will be delivered safely, responsibly, and in line with the high standards [they] have maintained over many years.” 

A public consultation period will last until May 6. After which, the review will be considered by a sub-committee on May 18. Shindig is set to open its gates on May 21 to 10,00 ticket holders. 

The rapper said of the upcoming tour, “This album means so much to me and my career and I can’t wait to see all the fans and celebrate with you all. This will be a celebration of my career across all my albums musically.” The tour will span 15 nights, beginning October 9 in Helsinki, Finland. She will continue across the Nordic countries, appearing in Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen. Then, she will make her way through Denmark, Germany, Poland, Austria, France and the Netherlands. The final show will be in Amsterdam on November 4. But before that, she is set to play the O2 Forum Kentish Town on November 2. 

Eve will set out on the road this autumn in celebration of her multi-Platinum album, ‘Scorpion.’ The album earned her first Grammy Award for the single, ‘Let Me Blow Ya Mind Ft. Gwen Stefani,’ winning the first Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, a then-new category at the 44^th Grammy Awards. ‘Scorpion’  was also nominated for Best Rap Album in the same year. 

The album has earned Platinum status in the US and Canada, and Gold in the UK. It peaked at Number 5 on the UK R&B Album Chart and Number 22 on the Official UK Albums Chart. Pitchfork gave the album an 8.3/10 in 2021, after it was rereleased for the 20^th anniversary. They say songs such as ‘Who’s That Girl?’ and ‘Let Me Blow Ya Mind’ “double and triple as power anthems and kiss-offs that affirm Eve as a multifaceted, enterprising rapper, singer, and pop star with a high emotional IQ.” They hail ‘Scorpion’ as “one of the most explicit pro-woman declarations in rap.” 

Just last month Eve appeared in the UK, co-hosting the 2026 MOBO Awards in Manchester. Other future UK appearances from the rapper will be at the Love Saves the Day Festival taking place in Bristol this May as well as at Boomtown Fair in Hampshire this August. 

Pre-sale for The Scorpion Tour will begin April 30 at 10am local time. Fans can sign up for pre-sale here. 

Eve’s The Scorpion Tour 2026 Dates 

9/10 – Apollo Live Club – Helsinki, Finland 

10/10 – Fallan – Stockholm, Sweden 

12/10 – Rockefeller – Oslo, Norway 

13/10 – VEGA – Copenhagen, Denmark 

14/10 – Docks – Hamburg, Germany 

16/10 – Progresja – Warsaw, Poland 

17/10 – Huxleys – Berlin, Germany 

19/10 – Muffathalle – Munich, Germany 

20/10 – Ottakringer Brauerei – Vienna, Austria 

21/10 – X-TRA – Zurich, Switzerland 

23/10 – Zoom- Frankfurt, Germany 

25/10 – Live Music Hall – Cologne, Germany 

2/11 – O2 Kentish Town Forum – London, UK 

3/11 – Bataclan – Paris, France 

4/11 – Melkewg – Amsterdam, The Netherlands 

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]]> https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/eve-announces-uk-and-european-tour-celebrating-25-years-of-scorpion-album/feed/ 0 https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/manic-street-preachers-and-sued-announce-joint-uk-headline-tour/ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/manic-street-preachers-and-sued-announce-joint-uk-headline-tour/#comments Fri, 24 Apr 2026 18:03:44 +0000 http://www.mxdwn.co.uk/?p=118946 Manic Street Preachers and Suede have just announced a co-headline tour of UK arenas this autumn. This marks the British rock groups’ third joint tour. The two groups played shows together in North America in 2022, and more recently a UK tour in 2024. Their first outing together was a 1994 tour of Europe. But the run to begin at the end of October will be their largest tour to date. 

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The tour begins in Glasgow at the OVO Arena and will head to Leeds and then Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena. They will spend two nights in Cardiff at the Utilita Arena before playing the O2 Arena in London. They’ll wrap up the run with nights in Birmingham, Nottingham and Bournemouth. 

In a review of their joint UK run in 2024, Clash said, “As it transpires, one of the few allies Suede can count on in British music are Manic Street Preachers. Literate, devoutly non-laddish indie rock, the pair are honorary members of the awkward squad, influencing the mainstream while facing antithetically against it. Hence this tour: Manic Street Preachers and Suede on the bill, swapping positions dependent on who the ‘home team’ – the headliner – is deemed to be that night.”

The band’s parallels has been reflected not only in their sound but also in similar moments in their careers. James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers spoke about this to NME ahead of the band’s 2022 North American run. He recalled the 1994 European tour with Suede, “I vividly remember those gigs because Richey [Edwards, now missing guitarist] was coming back from what you might call his emotional event and was insisting that he wanted to come on the road.” He spoke to the ways band had to adjust, saying “we were treading softly with Richey at some points,” But found commonalities in this with their tour mates: “Suede had lost Bernard Butler as their guitarist and were going through the transition of Richard Oakes coming into the band.” Commenting on both their careers as well as their performance, Bradfield said “[Suede] kind of share the same path as us. They’ve been through a few things and they’re still here.” 

In February 2025, Manic Street Preachers released their 15^th studio album, ‘Critical Thinking.’ It peaked at Number 2 on the UK Official Album charts and received 4 out of 5 stars from The Guardian, The Times and NME. 

Suede released their tenth studio album, ‘Antidepressants’ in September 2025. It also peaked at Number 2 on the UK Official Album charts, nodding again to the parallels in Suede and Manic’s careers. The album received a 9/10 from Line of Best Fit and an 8/10 from Clash. 

Tickets go on sale at 9:30am BST Friday May 1. Find access to those here. 

 

]]> https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/manic-street-preachers-and-sued-announce-joint-uk-headline-tour/feed/ 0 https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/shambala-becomes-the-uks-first-employee-owned-music-festival/ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/shambala-becomes-the-uks-first-employee-owned-music-festival/#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:38:44 +0000 http://www.mxdwn.co.uk/?p=118888 Shamble Festival has become the first music festival in the UK to be owned by its employees. For 26 years the festival has been independently owned by its founders, Kambe Events, but on Tuesday 21 April made the choice to hand ownership to their employees in a choice they are calling an “ethical, people-first alternative to the creeping, corporate consolidation of the festival industry by major conglomerates.” 

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Shambala is an annual, family-friendly festival held over the August bank holiday in Northamptonshire. This year, the festival will run August 27-31. Performers include Bob Vylan, BCUC, Los Bitchos and many more. 

The employees of the festival will own Shambala via an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). This is a decision the official press release states will make certain “that [Shambala’s] founding ethos – creativity, sustainability, independence and community – remains protected for years to come.” 

Chris Johnson, co-founder and MD says, “All of us at Shambala have an emotional stake in what we have built over 25 years; now everyone has an ownership stake. We would be nothing without our people, and they deserve to carry on the Shambala legacy as beneficiaries.” He also spoke to how the decision was intended to protect the festival from increased commercialization: “we simply could not sell to venture capitalists or the big promotion companies.” He said the founders “fell in love” with the EOT model while exploring options for the sell.

Dan Rafferty, co-founder and Head of Music said the choice to transition to employee-ownership reflected the festival’s core values:  “As a society, we must explore alternative models of ownership as a way through which the massive power and potential of capitalism can be focused on serving humanity and the planet at large. Employee Ownership is just the next, natural step in Kambe’s adventures towards a utopia.” 

Shambala has consistently shown a commitment to this “uptoia” thinking. The festival has been 100% renewably powered for its entire lifetime and last year’s 25^th Anniversary festival was the first UK festival to be heated entirely on biogas. 

Incoming chair of the EOT, Tom Berry says, “Employee ownership is the very best long-term option for people-focused businesses looking to protect their culture and reward their people. Kambe is a hugely creative group of people who have worked together to create one of the most culturally significant and unique festivals in the UK. The Kambe founders want a lasting legacy and employee ownership means everyone wins. I’m incredibly proud to be the team’s first EOT Chair.”

Shambala festival hosts around 15,000 adults each year, making it one of the UK’s smaller festivals. But it is rich with “poetry, puppetry, politics and permaculture” in its 40 venues hosting a motley of events sure to please any festival-goer. And they are proud to host “one of the most unique” musical line ups, spanning from punk to soul and from techno to folk. 

Any remaining tickets for the festival can be found here. 

 

]]> https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/shambala-becomes-the-uks-first-employee-owned-music-festival/feed/ 0 https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/massive-attack-kneecap-brian-eno-and-more-sign-no-music-for-genocide-letter-boycotting-eurovision/ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/massive-attack-kneecap-brian-eno-and-more-sign-no-music-for-genocide-letter-boycotting-eurovision/#comments Tue, 21 Apr 2026 11:46:18 +0000 http://www.mxdwn.co.uk/?p=118850 The No Music For Genocide campaign has issued a new open letter signed by 1,100 artists and cultural workers calling for Israel to be banned from participating in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest. 

The letter comes after the December 4 vote held by organisers, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), that decided Israel would be allowed to participate in the 2026 contest in Vienna next month. The decision was made despite both Israel’s involvement in the ongoing conflict in Gaza, and controversy over Eurovision 2025’s voting process.

Massive Attack, Brian Eno, IDLES, Primal Scream, Paloma Faith, Kneecap, Paul Weller, Hot Chip, Of Monsters and Men, Sigur Rós, Mogwai, Black Country New Road, Nadine Shah, Nemahsis and several previous Eurovision finalists are among the artists which signed today’s (21 April) open letter. In it, No Music For Genocide calls for the EBU to apply the same exclusions standards to Israel as have applied to Russia since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Russia has been banned from Eurovision since 2022.

NMFG’s campaign urges artists to geo-block their music from streaming platforms in Israel. Since September the movement has seen support from Kneecap, Massive Attack, Fontaines D.C., Primal Scream, Hayley Williams, Rina Sawayama and many more artists.

 Today’s open letter also calls on “public broadcasters, performers, screening party organisers, crew, and fans to boycott Eurovision.” Last year’s Eurovision final drew in 166 million viewers worldwide, a staggering figure which rivals both the Super Bowl and the Grammys viewerships. NMFG cited this as a reason for their urgency in calling for the boycott in their Instagram post, found below.

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The EBU said in a statement, “A large majority of Members agreed that there was no need for a further vote on participation and that the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 should proceed as planned, with the additional safeguards in place.” 

Four countries dropped from the 2026 competition as a result of the December 4 vote from the EBU: Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain will not participate. Six days later, on December 10, Iceland withdrew from the contest. On the same day, 11 of Portugal’s 16 entrants said they will decline performing if they win. This threatens Portugal’s ability to participate in Eurovision 2026. 

The open letter commends the aforementioned countries, saying NMFG “applaud[s] the principled withdrawals of the Spanish, Irish, Icelandic, Slovenian, and Dutch broadcasters, and the many national selection finalists committing to refuse to go to Eurovision. Just as artists stood against oppression in South Africa, we stand together now.”

Irish hip-hop trio, Kneecap spoke on the open letter: “We’ve paid a price for speaking out – lost gigs, court cases, visa bans – and we’d do it all again tomorrow. Silence is complicity. We stand with No Music for Genocide and every artist, fan and broadcaster who refuses to let the world’s biggest music event be used to whitewash genocide. No stage for genocide. Free Palestine.”

Fellow signees, Massive Attack, have also previously faced scrutiny for their support of these issues. Robert Del Naja was detained on 11 April at a protest connected to Palestinian Action. Just days later, the group released their first new music since 2020: the single ‘Boots on the Ground’ featuring Tom Waits and rife with political commentary.

The BBC will go on airing Eurovision 2026 from 14 May to 16 May, despite many British artists signing NMFG’s letter. In a statement after the December 4 vote, the BBC said it supports “the collective decision made by members of the EBU. This is about enforcing the rules of the EBU and being inclusive.”

In NFMG’s own statement regarding their open letter, organisers said they “[stand] with and [amplify] the incredible grassroots organising efforts across Europe to boycott Eurovision until Israel is banned. From PACBI to direct actionists, from Film Workers For Palestine in Hollywood to striking dockworkers in Italy and Morocco, people of conscience around the globe are fighting complicity in every industry for a free Palestine and a freer world.”

The entire open letter from No Music for Genocide is available to read here. 

 

]]> https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/massive-attack-kneecap-brian-eno-and-more-sign-no-music-for-genocide-letter-boycotting-eurovision/feed/ 0