Kneecap donate Wide Awake fee to Médecins Sans Frontières
Kneecap have donated their fee for the Wide Awake headline slot to Médecins Sans Frontières.
The Irish trio headlined the festival at Brockwell Park in South London on May 23rd. Other acts performing included CMAT, English Teacher, Fcukers, and Fat Dog. Only days before the show, Kneecap member Mo Chara was charged with a terror offence for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a London concert last year. The UK authorities list Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation.
Their charity efforts don’t end with the donation. During their UK tour, the band ran 10km every day of the 12-date tour to raise money for food parcels to send to families in Palestine. They surpassed the target of £30,000.
After unveiling a mural in August 2024, they raised £1300 for food parcels in Palestine and donated £5,000 to a family escaping Gaza. They wrote on Instagram, “We will continue to use every method we can to assist the Palestinian struggle against a genocide being enabled and supported by the very countries who claim to champion international law.”
During their headline set, the band addressed the recent controversy, “We are being made an example of, the Israeli lobbyists are trying to prove to other artists ‘that if you speak out, we’re going to hit you where it hurts most. They’re trying to cancel gigs, they trying to cancel my freedom of travel,” they declared.
At the festival, left-wing politician Jeremy Corbyn also made a speech during the day, criticising the current government and calling an end to all British arms sales to Israel, and urged those attending the festival to join anti-war rallies.
Many artists also showed support for Kneecap during their sets. The alternative rock outfit English Teacher told the crowd, “We are proud to share the stage with people who stand up against oppression.”
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