Wireless Festival boss is “very confident” it will return amid Kanye West controversy
Festival Republic chief Melvin Benn has stated he is “very confident” Wireless Festival will return in the future.
Kanye West was due to headline all three nights of the Finsbury Park festival this month, which was slated to take place between July 10th and July 12th.
However, due to West’s history of antisemitism, he was banned from entering the United Kingdom to perform at Wireless, which subsequently led to the entire festival being cancelled.
Prior to its cancellation, major sponsors such as Pepsi, Diageo, and PayPal distanced themselves from the event following West’s controversial booking. It was also exclusively confirmed to Far Out that Rockstar Energy would be removing its sponsorship.
Furthermore, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “Kanye West should never have been invited to headline Wireless. This government stands firmly with the Jewish community, and we will not stop in our fight to confront and defeat the poison of antisemitism.”
The PM added: “We will always take the action necessary to protect the public and uphold our values.”
Now, in a new interview with NME, Benn has reflected on the incident, stating, “Timing, I think, is an important lesson. I would hope that other people learn the lesson of forgiveness, because forgiveness is an important part of being a decent human being, in my view. So I do think that is a lesson, but that’s not my lesson.”
Benn added of the festival’s future, “I think timing is an important one, but Wireless will return. We’re very confident about that.”
Previously, in a public statement before the festival was officially cancelled, Benn issued a plea for the public to forgive West for his past antisemitism, stating, “Forgiveness and giving people a second chance are becoming a lost virtue in this ever-increasing divisive world and I would ask people to reflect on their instant comments of disgust at the likelihood of him performing (as was mine) and offer some forgiveness and hope to him as I have decided to do.”
After West’s appearance at Wireless was cancelled, he subsequently had further shows across Europe axed, including shows in France, Italy and Poland.
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