UK music festivals face artist boycott over Barclays sponsorship deals

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UK music festivals such as Latitude and Download are under pressure to cut ties with Barclays over perceived links to Israel, just weeks after a similar dispute led one of the biggest sponsors of literary festivals to pull out of deals.

Irish band Lankum has joined a group of artists threatening to withdraw from Latitude in July unless the Suffolk festival ends its relationship with Barclays, one of the most prominent sponsors of music festivals in Britain. 

In a letter to Latitude’s organisers, the group of musicians said the bank had “links with weapons firms involved in the genocide in Palestine”, according to a statement from Lankum. Irish singer-songwriter CMAT, alongside several other artists and comedians, has already withdrawn.

Download, the heavy rock festival in Donington Park that opens its doors this weekend, has also had artists withdraw owing to sponsorship by Barclays, while scores of acts cancelled appearances at the Great Escape festival in Brighton last month.

The pressure on music festivals to cut ties with major sponsors, which are a crucial source of reliable income for events that often make low or unpredictable profits, follows a similar campaign that led to the withdrawal of Baillie Gifford as a backer of many literary festivals.

The asset manager ended partnerships with the flagship Hay and Edinburgh international book festivals, as well as smaller festivals in Cheltenham, Cambridge and Wigtown in Scotland, after criticism of its purported links to Israel and the fossil-fuel industry through investments it holds.

Artists including Charlotte Church had pulled out of Hay, owing to its links to Baillie Gifford.

Barclays is a leading sponsor of music festivals, including the Isle of Wight Festival and Camp Bestival. Forced closures during the Covid-19 pandemic dealt many festivals and the wider industry a blow, although crowds have since started to return.

But organisers are now warning that the future of their events is under threat from a sharp rise in operating costs owing to inflation, as well as the impact of the cost of living crisis on audiences. 

The Association of Independent Festivals, a trade body, said 40 UK festivals had been postponed or closed entirely in 2024, and that more than 170 UK festivals had disappeared since 2019.

Barclays has invested £112mn in supporting the UK music and arts sector over the past two decades. In a statement, the bank said: “We provide vital financial services to US, UK and European public companies that supply defence products to Nato and its allies. Barclays does not directly invest in these companies.”

The pressure on Baillie Gifford has drawn criticism from writers and publishers, who warned that some literary festivals would become unviable, depriving the creative industries of much-needed income. 

Richard Osman, a television presenter and best-selling author, said on The Rest is Entertainment podcast this week that “next year almost all of these festivals will probably die”.

Nick Thomas, partner at Baillie Gifford, said in a statement that the asset manager held “the activists squarely responsible for the inhibiting effect their action will have on funding for the arts in this country”.

“Baillie Gifford is a long-term investor with high ethical standards and a complete focus on doing what is right by our clients. The assertion that we have significant amounts of money in the occupied Palestinian territories is offensively misleading,” he added.