Credit: Raph Pour-Hashemi

Kneecap claim Norwegian government are “enabling genocide” in Gaza during Øyafestivalen set

Sun 10 August 2025 10:23, UK

Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap hit out at the Norwegian government during their recent set at Øyafestivalen in Oslo, Norway.

The trio opened their set on August 8th with a message via video that accused the government’s “oil pension fund” of “enabling the genocide”.

Here, Kneecap refers to the Government Pension Fund of Norway, which famously invests surplus revenues from the country’s petroleum industry and boasts more than £1.4trillion in assets.

Recently, the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten reported that in 2023 and 2024, it had invested around £11.3million in Bet Shemesh Engines Ltd, a jet engine parts manufacturer that supplies the Israeli military.

Kneecap’s Mo Chara referenced the video that opened the set later in the show. He said, “I don’t have to lecture you people. I can understand there’s people here like, ‘All right, we get it, I’m sick of yous going on.’ I wish I didn’t have to talk about this, I wish I didn’t have to get on stage every gig and talk about this.”

He went on to add, “The fact is, as long as we’re on stage and as long as nothing is changing, Kneecap will always use this platform and this stage to call out the genocide and the war criminals. I don’t need to lecture you people when your oil fund is being used to fund the genocide.”

Kneecap’s set took place between Cassandra Jenkins and Gundelach. An hour later, fellow Irish band Fontaines DC took to the Sirkus stage. They have also consistently called out the “genocide” during shows, depicting the command “use your voice” to fans at all of their shows.

Recently, Kneecap’s concert in Vienna was cancelled following political pressure from the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria. Kneecap described the show cancellation as a “political distraction and a further attempt to silence those who call out genocide against the Palestinian people”.

This year’s Øyafestivalen headliners were Chappell Roan, Queens of the Stone Age, Girl in Red and Charli XCX.