BBC will no longer broadcast “high risk” perfomances live amid Bob Vylan controversy
In a new statement, the BBC has revealed that it will no longer broadcast “high-risk” performances live after a criminal investigation was launched into Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury set, which the BBC live-streamed.
During their Glastonbury set, the punk duo led the crowd through a chant of “Death to the IDF,” referencing the Israel Defence Forces. They also chanted “Free Palestine” and “From the river to the sea”.
Behind the band, they also displayed messaging that slammed the BBC for complicity in the conflict in the Middle East. One message read, “United Nations have called it a genocide. The BBC call it a ‘conflict’.”
Almost immediately, the BBC released a statement that apologised to the general public. It read in part, “The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence. 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.”
Now, the BBC has released a new statement: “We deeply regret that such offensive and deplorable behaviour appeared on the BBC and want to apologise to our viewers and listeners, particularly the Jewish community. We are also unequivocal that there can be no place for antisemitism at, or on, the BBC.”
The BBC admitted they made serious errors in the lead-up to the performance, as well as during the set, which took place on the West Holts stage on June 28th.
The statement continued: “Bob Vylan were deemed high risk following a risk assessment process applied to all acts appearing at Glastonbury. Seven acts including Bob Vylan were included in this category and they were all deemed suitable for live streaming with appropriate mitigations.”
It revealed that a decision was made prior to Glastonbury that “compliance risks could be mitigated in real time on the live stream, through the use of language or content warnings, without the need for a delay. This was clearly not the case.”
It then blamed the editorial team working on the set at the time, stating, “During the performance, the live stream was monitored in line with the agreed compliance protocols, and a number of issues were escalated. Warnings appeared on the stream on two occasions, and the editorial team decided not to cut the feed. This was an error.” They also noted that the Glastonbury performance was withdrawn from on-demand access immediately.
Though less than a week since the performance, the punk duo have experienced huge backlash already. Kave Fest in France has also confirmed that they will no longer host Bob Vylan, and a venue in Cologne will no longer let the band support Gogol Bordello in September. This comes after the Trump administration revoked their US visas, which will prevent them from hitting the road with their grandson later this year. They have also been dropped by talent agency UTA.
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