LAST UPDATE | 23 Aug

THE FESTIVAL AT the centre of controversy after it cut off The Mary Wallopers during the band’s performance yesterday after they displayed a Palestinian flag has apologised and said that it would be making a substantial donation to humanitarian assistance for Palestinian people.

Earlier today, The Mary Wallopers said they “reject” the “misleading” statements issued by Victorious Festival organisers claiming the band used a “discriminatory” chant during their set.

The band were performing at the Victorious Festival in Portsmouth yesterday when they claimed that they were cut off for displaying a Palestinian flag on stage. The festival has accepted this.

Videos posted online show the crowd booing when the sound is cut, as well as chants of “let them play”.

A spokesperson for the festival initially said the band had their set cut short for using a “discriminatory” chant, but today has admitted that it was due to a long-standing rule that disallows the display of flags.

The group shared a video on Instagram today of their performance, claiming that the organisers’ statement was “misleading” and that a festival crew member had interfered with their show.

A statement read: “Yesterday, a famine was declared in Gaza, where at least 65 people were killed by Israeli attacks, all the while Israel pushed ahead with plans to split the West Bank in two. These are the important facts about yesterday.

“We are uploading this video so everybody can see [Victorious Festival] cut our gig short for having a Palestinian flag on stage.

“The festival have released a misleading statement to the press claiming they cut our sound because of a discriminatory chant, and not the band’s call to Free Palestine.

“Our video clearly shows a Victorious crew member coming on stage, interfering with our show, removing the flag from the stage and then the sound being cut following a chant of “Free Palestine”. The same crew member is later heard in the video saying ‘you aren’t playing until the flag is removed’.

“We completely reject Victorious’ portrayal of today’s events and request that they retract their statement immediately.

“We know this is getting some attention and we don’t want another distraction which takes attention away from the genocide that is happening in Palestine.

“FREE PALESTINE.”

In its earlier statement, a spokesperson for Victorious said: “We spoke to the artist before the performance regarding the festival’s long-standing policy of not allowing flags of any kind at the event, but that we respect their right to express their views during the show.

“Although a flag was displayed on stage contrary to our policy, and this was raised with the artist’s crew, the show was not ended at this point, and it was the artist’s decision to stop the song.

“The decision by the event management to cut the sound and end the performance was only taken after the band used a chant which is widely understood to have a discriminatory context.

“To be clear, we respect the right of artists to use their platform to express their views within the inclusive nature of the event and it was not the band’s call to ‘Free Palestine’ which resulted in this outcome.”

Its latest statement, posted to Instagram, said that it had a policy of not allowing “flags of any kind” which has been in place for “many years”, but that its policy was not in place to detract the right of performers to freely express their views onstage.

“We accept that, although mics remained live for longer, sound for The Mary Wallopers’ audience was cut as described in the band’s video and that comments after that were not audible to the public.

“We are sorry that this situation has come about and will be making a substantial donation to humanitarian relief efforts for the Palestinian people.”

The Mary Wallopers received support from Belfast rap group Kneecap, who wrote in a post on X: “Speak up against genocide in England and you’re treated like a criminal. Up the Mary Wallopers.”

British rock band The Last Dinner Party, which was due to perform today, has pulled out from the festival after saying its members were “outraged” by the decision to cut The Mary Wallopers’ set.

Additional reporting by PA