Lankum and Beak> give Latitude Festival ultimatum over Barclays sponsorship
Following criticism over Barclays bank and their sponsorship of Latitude Festival, a number of artists on the line-up have delivered an ultimatum to the festival organisers, threatening to pull out of the line-up if their demands are not met.
Multiple artists, including Irish singer-songwriter CMAT, have already joined the boycott against Latitude as a result of their sponsorship by Barclays. The bank is being targeted by the Boycott, Divestment, Sanction (BDS) movement due its financial ties to weapons manufacturing and supplying arms to Israeli forces in Gaza.
Now, artists Lankum and Beak> have shared posts on social media revealing that they have signed a letter asking the festival organisers to sever ties with Barclays. According to the artists, if these conditions are not met before the festival is due to take place next month, they will each join the boycott movement in solidarity with Palestine.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Dublin-based group Lankum shared, “We have signed a letter asking the festival to drop the bank due to their links with weapons firms involved in the genocide in Palestine,” before adding, “We have also been working behind the scenes with a number of the acts scheduled to play at the festival, as we firmly believe that collective action is the most effective action”.
Beak> soon followed, sharing a similar statement that also noted “Hopefully it will resolve in a positive outcome where we don’t have to pull out. But if Latitude refuse to do so then we will be forced to pull out”. If these groups do end up dropping out of the line-up, they will be joining over 20 other artists in boycotting Latitude.
Latitude is not the only festival being targeted by the BDS movement. Last month, Brighton’s The Great Escape Festival went ahead after over 100 artists dropped out of the line-up. Meanwhile, this weekend’s Download Festival is seeing more and more names drop from the event day-by-day.
Barclays are a major sponsor of The Isle of Wight Festival, Camp Bestival and Lytham Festival among others, which have – thus far – managed to avoid the boycott movement. Whether or not the ultimatum delivered by Beak> and Lankum will cause Latitude to divest remains to be seen, but there is over a month left for fellow artists to join in on the protest.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Barclays previously defended the company, claiming, “We provide vital financial services to US, UK and European public companies that supply defence products to NATO and its allies. Barclays does not directly invest in these companies.”
Latitude Festival is set to take place in Suffolk between July 25th and July 28th with Kasabian, London Grammar and Duran Duran set to headline. As the event inches closer, as seen with The Great Escape and Download Festival, more acts are likely to join the boycott.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.