Download Festival appear to remove Barclays from website following artists boycott
Amid announcements of numerous bands dropping out of the 2024 Download Festival, the annual hard rock spectacle appears to have removed Barclaycard as a partner on their website.
The festival had come under fire for its association with Barclays, a bank that has alleged involvement in weapons manufacturing used to aid Israel amid a war with Palestine. While Barclays had been involved as a partner with Download for years prior to their recent connections to the war, an uprising from musicians has centred the discussion.
As was seen at the recent Great Escape Festival, the situation has led to numerous bands pulling out of Download, beginning with the thrash metal band Pest Control. In a statement posted on their social media pages, Pest Control acknowledged that while their performance would have been a major milestone for the group, they could not put their beliefs to one side.
They said: “We cannot sacrifice the principles held by this band and by the scene we come from and represent, just for personal gain.”
Other hard rock musicians, such as Speed and Zulu, have also withdrawn from the festival in solidarity with Palestine. While Download is still set to take place from June 14th to June 17th, it is unclear whether any more artists will boycott the event as well.
Metal band Ithaca also joined the boycott, stating: “Once we were made aware of Barclays’ involvement in Download we knew we could no longer participate,” the band told The Guardian. “This moment of solidarity is an opportunity for festival organisers to reflect carefully on who they take money from and see that the younger generation of bands will no longer be silent.”
Of course, this is far from the first festival that has come under fire due to its association with Barclays. During the promotion of The Great Escape Festival in May, over 100 artists dropped their slots due to Barclays, and singer-songwriter CMAT has also refused to perform at Latitude Festival this year.
Outside of the numerous bands that have dropped out already, headliners Pantera have also found themselves in the midst of controversy – albeit for different reasons. Prior to the group having reformed without core members Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul, frontman Phil Anselmo was removed from Download in 2016 after a video surfaced of him allegedly giving a Nazi salute to the crowd.
UPDATE: Barclaycard has since re-appeared as a partner on the Download Festival line-up.
Far Out has reached out to Download Festival for comment.
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