The organisers behind the Victorious Festival apologised on Saturday after Irish band The Mary Wallopers had their set cut short after displaying a Palestine flag on stage.
The folk band accused the festival of deliberately turning off their microphones after they displayed the flag, while the audience began chanting “Free Palestine”.
In a statement on their Instagram, the festival’s organisers admitted that the sound for the band’s audience was cut off and “didn’t handle the explanation of our policies sensitively or far enough in advance to allow a sensible conclusion to be reached”.
“We absolutely support the right of artists to freely express their views from the stage, within the law and the inclusive nature of the event,” the festival said, adding that the festival has long had a policy of not allowing flags for “wider event management and safety reasons”.
The organisers said they would be making a substantial donation to humanitarian relief efforts in Palestine.
A video shared by The Mary Wallopers on Instagram shows a crew member confronting one of the band members and removing the flag from the stage, while the band’s microphones had stopped working after the audience began chanting.
Following the set, a spokesperson for the festival said they had spoken to the artists before the performance about its policy of not allowing flags at the event, claiming that the band decided to stop the song and not the crew.
The Mary Wallopers condemned the festival’s “misleading” statement after a spokesperson claimed their set was cut short for using a “discriminatory” chant.
“We completely reject Victorious’ portrayal of today’s events and request that they retract their statement immediately,” The Mary Wallopers said.
The move prompted many artists to pull out from the festival lineup, including rock band The Last Dinner Party, saying the organisers “cosign political censorship and will therefore be boycotting the festival”.
The Victorious Festival expressed “regret” for not being able to “teach a positive conclusion” with the Last Dinner Party, but “respect their decision and their ongoing support for Palestinian humanitarian causes”.
Rock band The Academic also withdrew from the festival in solidarity with the band, saying they “can’t in good conscience stand up and play at a festival that silences free speech and the right to express your views”.
Irish band Clifford’s also pulled out, saying they “refuse to play if we are to be censored for showing our support to the people of Palestine” and “have no intention of playing if this is how artists are treated for speaking out against genocide”.
After performing their opening song on the Common Stage of the festival, Ezra Koenig, lead singer of Vampire Weekend, said: “If someone was censored for flying a flag then that’s wrong and they deserve an apology,” adding that the people of Palestine “deserve our sympathies”.
