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Barclays suspends sponsorship of Live Nation music festivals after protests

June 14, 2024 at 8:27 pm

Performance during day four of Latitude Festival 2022 at Henham Park, Southwold, England on July 24, 2022 [ Dave J Hogan/Getty Images]

Barclays suspended, on Friday, its sponsorship of all Live Nation music festivals in 2024 after various acts dropped out in protest over the Bank’s links to defence companies that work with Israel, Reuters reports.

The suspension includes upcoming Live Nation festivals across the UK this summer, including Latitude, Download and the Isle of Wight.

“The protestors’ agenda is to have Barclays debank defence companies, which is a sector we remain committed to as an essential part of keeping this country and our allies safe,” the Bank’s spokesperson told Reuters.

The suspension comes after several artists, including country singer, CMAT, metal band Ithaca and comedian, Joanne McNally, pulled out of the events.

Last month, Barclay’s annual shareholders’ meeting was disrupted by activists protesting against its alleged indirect links to violence in Gaza. The Bank had said the week before that it did not invest its own money in companies that supply weapons used by Israel in Gaza.

READ: Barclays ties with Israel see UK bands withdraw from another music festival