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Spanish artists boycott Israel-linked festivals over its genocide action in Gaza

June 4, 2025 at 2:40 pm

A Palestinian flag with an image of Pablo Picasso’s masterpiece “Guernica” depicting a mother holding her child is pictured next to demonstrators lying on ground covered with white sheets as part of a protest performance in support of the Palestinian people of Gaza, under the slogan “Stop genocide, Break with Israel now!” in the Spanish Basque city of San Sebastian, on June 1, 2025. [ANDER GILLENEA / AFP/ Getty Images]

Spanish artists have announced their boycott of several festivals hosted in Spain this summer due to Israeli sponsorship or partnerships, in protest against the ongoing genocide committed by Tel Aviv in the Gaza Strip.

At the Sónar music festival, scheduled to take place in Barcelona from 12 to 14 June, 28 Spanish artists declared they would not take part in the event, in response to Israel’s actions in Gaza, according to Anadolu Agency.

The artists explained their withdrawal was prompted by the involvement of KKR, a co-organiser of the festival. The company is an investment firm known to have links to the construction of illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Meanwhile, Sónar issued a statement on its official website, affirming that it “strongly condemns the genocide suffered by the Palestinian people” and that it maintains “a clear stance regarding human rights”.