Glastonbury 2025: Defiant Kneecap take to stage at festival as member Mo Chara tells crowd 'I'm a free man'

The Belfast hip-hop trio performed at the West Holts stage at 4pm, with all eyes on their set after controversy over their performance. It came after Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence and later released under unconditional bail.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed that the charged had been brought against Ó hAnnaidh in relation to a historical incident which saw the 27-year-old allegedly wave a flag in support of proscribed terrorist group Hezbollah during a live performance at London’s O2 Kentish Forum last year.

Kneecap, who have been vocal in their support of Palestine, labelled the charge “political policing” and “a carnival of distraction”, with the investigation being launched during the fallout of their Coachella set earlier this year in which they sparked controversy after displaying the message ‘Free Palestine. F*** Israel’.

Kneecap opened their Glastonbury set with a summary of some of the headlines aimed at the band in recent months, as well as audio clips from vocal critics including Sharon Osbourne. Osbourne was among industry figures that had previously urged festival organiser Emily Eavis to cancel the band’s gig at Glastonbury, adding: "I pray that they are [banned]... and if they're not, SHAME on Glastonbury!"

Glastonbury Festival confirmed that the West Holts stage, which was hosting the Irish musicians, was pushed to capacity almost an hour before the band went onstage and no more festivalgoers were being permitted into the area. The festival’s official X account said: “No access to West Holts. Please head to another area of the site - thank you.”

Kneecap arrived on stage greeted by a wave of Irish and Palestinian flags, while Mo Chara donned a keffiyeh, a traditional Palestinian scarf often used to show solidarity. He told the crowd gathered at the stage to watch the performance: “Glastonbury, I’m a free man.”

Fellow member JJ Ó Dochartaigh, also known as DJ Próvaí, wore a t-shirt in support of protest group Palestine Action. The group found themselves in the headlines after the government stated plans to designated them as a banned group after members recently broke into an RAF base and vandalised two planes.

Kneecap’s Glastonbury performance was not streamed live on the BBC’s dedicated festival coverage after pressure from political leaders. Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said it would not be “appropriate” for the band to perform in light of the terror charge, while Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: “The BBC should not be showing Kneecap propaganda. One Kneecap band member is currently on bail, charged under the Terrorism Act. As a publicly funded platform, the BBC should not be rewarding extremism.”

The BBC confirmed that fans would not be able to watch the set live but said that Kneecap’s performance may be added to the broadcaster’s on-demand Glastonbury content if it did not breach “editorial guidelines”.

A spokesperson for the BBC said: “As the broadcast partner, the BBC is bringing audiences extensive music coverage from Glastonbury, with artists booked by the festival organisers. While the BBC doesn’t ban artists, our plans ensure that our programming meets our editorial guidelines.

“We don’t always live-stream every act from the main stages and look to make an on-demand version of Kneecap’s performance available on our digital platforms, alongside more than 90 other sets.”

Kneecap responded, telling fans on social media: “The propaganda wing of the regime has just contacted us…. They WILL put our set from Glastonbury today on the iPlayer later this evening for your viewing pleasure.”