Barclays has withdrawn its sponsorship from all Live Nation festivals after protests led to vandalism of its branches and bands announced they would boycott the events due to the bank’s ties to defence companies supplying Israel.
Barclays ended its sponsorship of the Latitude Festival following backlash from artists and fans over the bank’s alleged connections to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The bank has suspended its sponsorship deal with Live Nation, which organizes the Latitude, Download, and Isle of Wight festivals.
In a statement, Live Nation said: “Following discussions with artists, we have agreed with Barclays that they will step back from sponsorship of our festivals.”
A Barclays spokesperson said: “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.”
This decision follows the withdrawal of musicians, including Irish singer-songwriter CMAT, and comedians like Joanne McNally and Grace Campbell, who had announced they were pulling out of Latitude over accusations that Barclays was funding Israel’s weapons trade.
Several bands, including Pest Control, Speed, Scowl, Zulu, and Ithaca, also withdrew from Download, which began in Leicestershire on Friday.
The boycott followed attacks on at least 20 Barclays branches across England and Scotland earlier this week by pro-Palestine activists, who also criticized the bank for its investments in fossil fuels.
