Glastonbury Organizers ‘Appalled’ by Bob Vylan’s Chants After Set Sparks Controversy: ‘There Is No Place for Antisemitism, Hate Speech or Incitement to Violence’

Glastonbury organizers have responded to controversy over punk duo Bob Vylan‘s set on Saturday, during which singer Bobby Vylan led the crowd in several chants including “death, death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces].”

A statement shared on Sunday morning by Glastonbury Festival’s official Instagram account as well as by organizer Emily Eavis reads: “With almost 4,000 performances at Glastonbury 2025, there will inevitably be artists and speakers appearing on our stages whose views we do not share, and a performer’s presence here should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs.”

The statement continues, “However, we are appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan yesterday. Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.”

Bob Vylan played the West Holts stage on Saturday afternoon to a packed crowd, just ahead of Kneecap’s anticipated set. While Kneecap’s performance was not aired on the BBC after recent controversy over their political statements — leading to member Mo Chara recently being charged under the U.K.’s Terrorism Act — Bob Vylan’s set was shown live. In addition to the “death to the IDF” chant, Bob Vylan also led the crowd in chanting “Free, free Palestine” and “from the river to the sea, Palestine must be free.”

In response, the BBC called the comments made during the set “deeply offensive.”

“During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language,” the statement continued. “We have no plans to make the performance available on demand.”