In April, Peace & Justice Project launched Art Against The Arms Trade as part of the Music For The Many campaign with the aim of removing Barclays, a bank with many ties to weapons manufacturers, as sponsors of UK music festivals.
Last week, following sustained pressure from our campaign, which supported thousands of people to write to festival organisers using our lobbying tool, as well as the tireless work of others in the Bands Boycott Barclays coalition, Download, Isle Of Wight, Latitude and Camp Bestival suspended their partnership with Barclays.
Following the announcement, Jeremy Corbyn said:
“UK festivals cutting ties with Barclays is a huge victory for the Palestinian and artist led campaign to remove the financiers of war from our cultural events.
Corbyn also called on all other festival organisers in the UK and around the world to cut ties with Barclays so that they:
“Stand on the side of humanity and peace.”
Samuel Sweek, Art Against The Arms Trade organiser, said:
“This is an absolutely massive victory for our movement and shows the incredible power we have if we stand together against the profiteers of war.
This sends a strong message to other festival organisers around the world: if they don’t stand on the side of humanity and cut ties with the war machine, we will continue to organise in solidarity with the Palestinian people — and we will win.”
This victory is a significant moment in ending the culture-washing of UK music events by those funding and profiteering from the bombardment of Gaza and numerous conflicts around the world. Peace & Justice Project welcomes the suspension of Barclays and Live Nation's partnership and will continue to demand companies such as Barclays are never able to launder their reputations using cultural institutions such as music festivals ever again.