BBC says Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury set ‘utterly unacceptable’ as it promises review of live event rules
Corporation regrets decision to air rapper’s ‘antisemitic’ chants and says stream should have been pulled
The BBC has condemned antisemitic chants aired during a Glastonbury set as “utterly unacceptable” and admitted it should have pulled the livestream mid-performance.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Monday, the broadcaster said it “stands firmly against incitement to violence” and pledged a review of its live event protocols following outrage over comments made by Bob Vylan on the West Holts stage Saturday afternoon.
Footage shared widely on social media showed the performer leading festival-goers in chants of “Death, death, death to the IDF”, invoking violence against Israeli soldiers. He also declared, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free, inshallah” – a phrase widely understood as calling for the elimination of the Jewish state – and railed against “Zionists in the music industry”.
The BBC confirmed it live-streamed the full set on iPlayer, including the chants, without edits or bleeping but said on-screen warnings were issued at the time. “With hindsight, we should have pulled the performance. We regret this did not happen,” the statement read.
It added: “The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves. We welcome Glastonbury’s condemnation of the performance.”
The performance is no longer available on-demand, and the BBC said it would review its internal guidance “so we can be sure teams are clear on when it is acceptable to keep output on air.”
Avon and Somerset Police confirmed on Sunday they are assessing footage from the set to determine whether any offences were committed.
Glastonbury Festival said in its own statement: “We were appalled by the statements made by Bob Vylan… There is no place for antisemitic hate speech or incitement to violence.”
The incident came just hours before another controversial act, the Irish group Kneecap, took to the same stage draped in Palestinian flags. One member called on fans to “riot” outside a London court – comments he later walked back. Another faces charges relating to alleged support for Hezbollah.
A spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy condemned the scenes as “inflammatory and hateful”, warning the chant “advocates for the dismantling of the State of Israel”.
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