<\/p>\n
The Last Dinner Party pulled out of their set at Portsmouth\u2019s Victorious festival at the weekend after Irish band the Mary Wallopers saw their set cut short after saying \u201cfree Palestine and fuck Israel\u201d.<\/p>\n
On Friday, the Mary Wallopers walked onstage and unveiled a Palestinian flag alongside their opening remarks. Video appeared to show a crew member confronting the band about the flag, which was draped on the stage, and then removing it. After calls from the band and the crowd of \u201cfree, free Palestine\u201d, the sound was cut. The band briefly retrieved the flag to cheers.<\/p>\n
A representative for the festival initially said that the show was cut short after the band used \u201ca chant which is widely understood to have a discriminatory context\u201d.<\/p>\n
On Instagram, the Mary Wallopers disputed this, posting footage of the incident. \u201cThe festival have released a misleading statement to the press claiming they cut our sound because of a discriminatory chant and not the band\u2019s 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 \u2018Free Palestine\u2019. The same crew member is later heard in the video saying \u2018you aren\u2019t playing until the flag is removed\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe completely reject Victorious\u2019 portrayal of today\u2019s events and request that they retract their statement immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victorious put out a subsequent statement apologising for the situation. \u201cWe are in the business of putting on great shows, not cutting them off and this is the last thing we wanted, for the band, their fans and ourselves. We didn\u2019t handle the explanation of our policies sensitively or far enough in advance to allow a sensible conclusion to be reached. This put the band and our own team in a difficult situation which never should have arisen. We would like to sincerely apologise to all involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe absolutely support the right of artists to freely express their views from the stage, within the law and the inclusive nature of the event. Our policy of not allowing flags of any kind, which has been in place for many years for wider event management and safety reasons, is not meant to compromise that right.\u201d<\/p>\n
The organisers accepted the band\u2019s version of the events and said they would be making \u201ca substantial donation to humanitarian relief efforts for the Palestinian people\u201d.<\/p>\n
In response to the Mary Walloper\u2019s set being pulled, British band the Last Dinner Party cancelled their scheduled Saturday performance at the festival. \u201cWe are outraged by the decision made to silence the Mary Wallopers yesterday at Victorious,\u201d they posted on Instagram. \u201cAs a band we cannot cosign political censorship and will therefore be boycotting the festival today.\u201d<\/p>\n