Politics plays the main stage at Glastonbury

Conflict provides a backdrop to the festival

Britain’s Glastonbury festival is one of the world’s best-known music events. But despite 125 stages and several hundred acts, the real star of the show this year was politics.

Controversial Irish rap group Kneecap were back in the headlines. British PM Keir Starmer had said it was “inappropriate” for the group to perform, following previous inflammatory comments made by the trio. This was enough for them to lead a chant of “Eff Starmer”. They also called out the Israeli forces for war crimes in Gaza.

The act that preceded them, Bob Vylan, went one step further when chants of "death, death to the IDF" (Israel Defence Forces) ended up being broadcast live by the BBC.

“Throw Your Hatred Down”

The Saturday headliner, Neil Young – no stranger to controversy, gave a stirring performance, one of the highlights of which was the anti-war, anti-hate and (arguably) anti-Trump protest “Throw Your Hatred Down”.

The news from the festival somewhat overshadowed the news from Gaza itself, where up to 70 people are reported to have been killed over the weekend. Although there is talk of a possible ceasefire, Israel continues to strictly limit aid to the population.