Why are musicians dropping out of The Great Escape 2024, and could more festivals be affected?

Despite an additional 150 acts named last week appearing at the annual Great Escape Festival in Brighton this year, several artists are boycotting this year’s festival due to one of its sponsors - Barclays.

The issue came into prominence after a petition was started by the promoter How to Catch a Pig and the band The Menstrual Cramps. The petition has been signed by several artists, including Kneecap, Lambrini Girls, Alfie Templeman, Lip Critic, Wunderhorse, and Mary in the Junkyard. 

The petition read “A bank that is involved in Israel’s genocide has no place at The Great Escape, which is a fixture of the independent music scene and has a prized place in the industry. We refuse to let music be used to whitewash human rights violations. We cannot let our creative outputs become smokescreens behind which money is pumped into murdering Palestinians.”

These artists have requested the festival to remove Barclays as a sponsor, with 208 out of the 440 bands that were originally booked for the line-up have signed the petition, gaining as of writing a total of 977 signatories.

Add to that now the addition of two independent record labels who have publicly stated they will not be involved in this year’s event - Big Scary Monsters and Alcopop! Records. In a post on X (formerly Twitter,) Alcopop! Records wrote: “I think for us it has always been a case of listen to your artists! Looking back a few weeks ago we were really looking forward to The Great Escape. Hands down the best multi-venue festival in the UK, they do sterling work for up-and-coming bands and have welcomed us back to host our stage year after year.” 

“However, when The Menstrual Cramps and How to Catch a Pig explained the Barclaycard situation, Alcopop! and Big Scary Monsters felt strongly about standing in solidarity and stepping away from the line-up. To be associating our label with Barclays doesn't sit right with our ethical standpoint, and if we can do anything to help raise awareness, and ultimately highlight the corporate greed at the heart of this horrendous genocide in Gaza, we will.”

What is Barclays' link to Israel leading to the boycotts?

Barclays Bank has faced significant criticism and organized boycotts due to its financial investments in arms companies that supply military technology and weapons to Israel, such as allegedly General Dynamic and Elbit System to name two.

These arms are reportedly used by Israel in its operations against Palestinians, which has led to public outcry and protests against the bank, especially in light of the continuing conflict in Gaza after the Re'im music festival massacre.

Campaigns led by groups such as the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) have highlighted Barclays' investments of over £1 billion in shares and providing over £3 billion in loans and underwriting to companies involved in these activities. This has sparked widespread protests across the UK, with demonstrators urging Barclays to divest from these companies and accusing the bank of complicity in human rights abuses​​​​.

One notable aspect of the campaign against Barclays is the comparison to the bank's past financial support for apartheid in South Africa, which ended after similar boycotts and public pressures in 1986. The current protests aim to achieve a similar outcome by highlighting the ethical implications of Barclays' business operations and investments

What other festivals are Barclays a sponsor of this year?

Quite a few events have Barclaycard as an official sponsor of their events, so if you’re undertaking your due diligence this year, the following events also have involvement from the banking institute, according to Barclaycard Entertainment’s website.

• Isle of Wight Festival 2024
• Latitude 2024
• Capital’s Summertime Ball and Jingle Bell Ball with Barclaycard
• Download
• Lytham Festival 
• Camp Bestival Dorset 
• Camp Bestival Shropshire 
• Scarborough Open Air Theatre