According to the Guardian, Barclays have a 5-year sponsorship deal that was signed last year with Live nation and it is understood that this does not affect the whole duration of the contract.

a spokesperson from Live nation, who are the company which run these festivals, has told the Guardian that “Following discussion with artists, we have agreed with Barclays that they will step back from sponsorship of our festivals.”

A spokesperson for Barclays told the Guardian that “Barclays was asked and has agreed to suspend participation in the remaining Live Nation festivals in 2024. Barclays customers who hold tickets to these festivals are not affected and their tickets remain valid. The protesters’ agenda is to have Barclays debank defence companies which is a sector we remain committed to as an essential part of keeping this country and our allies safe.”

This all follows a huge boycott of Brighton festival, The Great Escape, last month where over 120 artists pulled out of the festival because of their sponsorship from Barclaycard and the move has since snowballed having an effect on Latitude, Download and Isle of Wight festivals, with 17 acts pulling out of Latitude alone so far which is set to take place at the end of July. Bands such as Scowl, Pest Control and Ithaca have all withdrawn for Download’s line-up taking place this weekend.

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A spokesperson for Bands Boycott Barclays has said that “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.”

They further highlighted their message to Barclays “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.”

Enter Shikari, who played at Download earlier today, came out via Instagram in response to Barclays withdrawing their sponsorship from this year’s festival: “There has been mounting pressure for bands to drop out of Download festival due to the involvement of Barclays Bank.”

“We have been in talks with Download themselves, expressing our serious objection at Barclays involvement. We have considered all options, and along with other artists have been working tirelessly on this.”

“We don’t believe in rushed reactions and always want the best outcome for all involved. Thanks to this collective pressure we now believe we have achieved that – Barclays have pulled out of Download Festival.”

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DJs, podcasts, cover bands, live comedy, karaoke, drag shows and more are coming to District X at Download Festival!

District X, which is open to weekend ticket-holders, from Wednesday the 12th of June is a cornucopia of rock’n’roll and entertainment including guest DJ sets, karaoke, acoustic sessions, podcasts, comedy and more.

At the top of the bill is former Busted/Fightstar man Charlie Simpson who’ll be performing a special DJ set, Bowling For Soup will be playing a one-off acoustic show and the heavy metal / EDM crossover partystarter Sullivan King will be bringing the bangers with his own DJ set.

Elsewhere at District X there will be DJ sets from some of the country’s top alternative club nights including Girl Power Rock Club, Face Down and Uprawr, while HE. SHE. THEY. and Mønster Queen will be bringing a one-of-a-kind goth/rave/drag experience to Donington.

There will also be live podcasts from Sappenin’ Podcast and Those Damn Crows’ own Crowcast, alongside live comedy from Oh My God! It’s The Church and Kerrang! favourite Andrew O’Neill who be performing their renowned History Of Heavy Metal show.

Plus a whole lot more! Like brass covers of Download hits from Old Dirty Brasstards, heavy metal sea shanties from Old Time Sailors, and Slay Duggee will bring the pit to the mini-moshers of Download.

Check out the full District X line-up below and get your Download Festival tickets now.

Download Festival takes place at Donnington Park from the 14th to the 16th of June. Created by Terrance Gough, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 2019); Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne (since 2018) and at the Hockenheimring in Baden-Württemberg, Germany (since 2022).

Download at Donington is the most popular and has hosted some of the biggest names, including Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Slipknot, Metallica, Linkin Park, Korn, Soundgarden, Motörhead, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Def Leppard, Kiss, Judas Priest, Rammstein, Status Quo, Mötley Crüe, Journey, ZZ Top, Whitesnake, Faith No More and Guns N’ Roses.

Get tickets for download here.

All hands to the pump! Download have just announced their 2024 day tickets as well as the final remaining weekend tickets.

Day tickets for this year’s Download Festival have just literally gone on sale.

Along with the remaining weekend passes, the Donnington Park festival has now launched what is ostensibly a limited run of day tickets ahead of June.

So whether it’s Fall Out Boy that whets your whistle on Saturday’s, or if it’s Friday’s showing of the stellar Queens Of The Stone age that gets your focus, or if you’re after catching Avenged Sevenfold on Sunday you can, quite literally, take your pick—for now.

Naturally, there is plenty to pick from beyond the headliners. QOTSA day will feature the likes of Royal Blood, Polyphia, Bad Omens, Mr. Bungle and even a surprise Avalance Stage headline set from Busted. On Saturday, meanwhile, Fall Out Boy will be joined on the Apex Stage by The Offspring, Enter Shikari, BABYMETAL and more, while elsewhere that day will include While She Sleeps, Tom Morello, Billy Talent and Holding Absence. Then, there’s one massive party before A7X on the Sunday – with Bowling For Soup, Sum 41 and Limp Bizkit all getting things nice and warmed up for the Huntington Beach metallers. On the other stages you can catch fellow heavyweights like Machine Head, Corey Taylor and The Used.

Download Festival is a rock festival created by Terrance Gough, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 2019); Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne (since 2018) and at the Hockenheimring in Baden-Württemberg, Germany (since 2022).

Download at Donington is the most popular and has hosted some of the biggest names, including Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Slipknot, Metallica, Linkin Park, Korn, Soundgarden, Motörhead, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Def Leppard, Kiss, Judas Priest, Rammstein, Status Quo, Mötley Crüe, Journey, ZZ Top, Whitesnake, Faith No More and Guns N’ Roses.

But hurry, I’m sure tickets won’t be on sale for long.

Get your Download Festival 2024 tickets now.

The Leicestershire festival, taking place from 14 June to 16 June 2024, will also welcome alternative rock duo Royal Blood, California punk rock band The Offspring and heavy metal group Machine Head. Pantera, a heavy metal band hailing from Texas, will make their first UK appearance in 20 years at next year’s Download, while Canadian pop-punk idols Sum 41 will bid farewell to the UK festival scene as they make their last ever UK festival appearance. The band will continue to tour however, and have a new album, Heaven :x: Hell, coming out next year.

The hard rock, heavy metal and punk festival, one of the UK’s biggest and most popular summer events, is set to be partnered for a second year with canned water company Liquid Death. CEO of Liquid Death Mike Cessario spoke on the partnership, stating, “The deep connection between Download fans and artists is unique, and we’re pumped to officially be a part of the Download community. We’re looking forward to murdering thirst for festivalgoers and artists in 2024 and beyond.”

Watch the music video for “No One Knows” by Download 2024 headliners Queens Of The Stone Age below:

Other bands and artists to feature include: Alien Weaponry, Alpha Wolf, All Them Witches, Alt Blk Era, Atreyu, Babymetal, Bad Omens, Billy Talent, Biohazard, Bleed From Within, Bowling For Soup, Brand Of Sacrifice, Calva Louise, Celestial Sanctuary, Charlotte Sands, Corey Taylor, Counterparts, Crystal Lake, Deathbyromy, Defects, Delilah Bon, Dream State, Dying Fetus, Dying Wish, Elvana, Erra, Fear Factory, Fit For A King, Frozemode, Gel, Halocene, Hanabie, Harper, Heilung, Heriot, Holding Absence, Hoobastank, Hotwax, Imminence, Karnivool, Kelsy Karter & The Heroines, Knife Bride, Lord Of The Lost, Make Them Suffer, Missio, Noahfinnce, Oxymorrons, Pest Control, Polyphia, Pinkshift, Røry, Royal & The Serpent, Scene Queen, Scowl, Shadow Of Intent, Silverstein, Slaughter To Prevail, Speed, Storm, The Black Dahlia Murder, The Blue Stones, The Callous Daoboys, The Offspring, The Used, Those Damn Crows, Thy Art Is Murder, Tigercub, Underside, Until I Wake, Urne, Vukovi, Wargasm, While She Sleeps, Zulu, 311.

More bands and artists are expected to be announced.

Presale tickets for next year’s Download 2024 are available here from tonight, Wednesday 8 November at 9pm.