The BBC changes its transmission policy, after the anti-Israel challenges at the Glastonbury Festival
Bobby Vylan, a member of the British duo Bob Vylan, on the fourth day of the Glastonbury Festival, in the southwest of England. Photo: Oli Scarff / AFP / Profimedia
The BBC will cease to transmit the “high risk” concerts after the controversy caused by the anti-Israel statements made by a member of the Bob Vylan group on the Glastonbury Festival on Saturday, the public radio radio radio was announced on Thursday, AFP reports.
“I regret deeply that the BBC was the echo of such an offensive and deplorable behavior and I would like to present my excuses,” said the general manager, Tim Davie, in a press release, insisting that “anti-Semitism does not have its place” in this media group.
The musical events “considered high risk will no longer be broadcast on live, nor broadcast in streaming,” said the BBC in the same statement.
Seven troops and artists, including the Bob Vylan punk -rap duo, were “classified as a high risk following an evaluation process applied to all artists who perform at Glastonbury”, but “consider it to be broadcast live, with appropriate measures”, such as screen warnings.
During his appearance on stage, on Saturday, broadcast live on the BBC platform dedicated to the festival, one of the members of the Bob Vylan group chanted “Death, Death for IDF!”, Referring to the Israeli defense forces.
These words have caused numerous reactions, including from Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who said that “nothing excuses this type of hatred.”
“The editorial team decided not to interrupt the concert broadcast (supported by Bob Vylan). It was a mistake,” the BBC group announced. A procedure has been launched to ensure that the persons involved are “responsible”.
Criminal Investigation in the UK after the anti-Israel scandals at the Glastonbury / USA festival revoked the visas of the Bob Vylan band
The British police opened an investigation into the statements made by Bob Vylan and the North-Irish band Kneecap, whose members accused Israel of being a “war criminal” on the stage of the famous United Kingdom.
The presence of the North-Irish trio at the Glastonbury 2025 festival was carefully pursued, in the context in which one of its members, Liam O'hanna, who uses the Moara stage name, was accused of “terrorist crime” after a flag of the Hezbollah terrorist movement during a concert organized in London. The Kneecap band at Glastonbury was not transmitted live.
The visas of the members of the Bob Vylan group were revoked by the United States, a few months before their American tournament, and the band was eliminated from the program of a Manchester festival and a Koln concert.
