‘The plug should have been pulled’: Should the BBC continue to broadcast Glastonbury?
The BBC admits it should have "pulled the stream" during the Glastonbury performance where punk-rap duo Bob Vylan chanted "death to the IDF". The incident raises questions about whether a state broadcaster committed to impartiality can continue covering an increasingly political festival.
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In brief:
- The BBC has expressed its regret for not pulling a Glastonbury performance by rap duo Bob Vylan from its streaming service more quickly, during which its frontman encouraged the audience to chant ‘death to the IDF’.
- The News Agents have described the incident as an “unedifying spectacle”, while UK politicians from across the spectrum have condemned the language used.
- Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel say the incident has raised questions over whether the BBC should continue to pay for the rights to broadcast a festival with a left-wing political stance.
What’s the story?
The BBC is facing heat after live-streaming a Glastonbury set that saw a performer chant “death death to the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]”.
On-screen warnings issued by the BBC about discriminatory language appeared during punk-rap duo Bob Vylan’s set, but the broadcaster has since said it should have “pulled the stream” during the performance.
While performing at the festival’s West Holts stage on Saturday (21 June]) Bobby Vylan also led crowds in chanting “free Palestine” and “from the river to the sea” - a slogan often used to call for Palestinian control of all land between the Jordanian River and the Mediterranean Sea, including the State of Israel.
In a statement on Monday, the BBC said: "The team were dealing with a live situation but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance. We regret this did not happen."
Bob Vylan’s set preceded Irish rap trio Kneecap’s - a band that had previously displayed the Hezbollah flag at their concert.
The BBC had already made the decision not to screen Kneecap’s performance live, due to fears it would breach “editorial guidelines” on impartiality.
An edited version of Kneecap’s set is now available to view on BBC iPlayer, Bob Vylan’s set has not been made available to view on demand.
“Imagine being a young Jewish attendee of Glastonbury and hearing people calling for the death of Jews,” Jon Sopel says on The News Agents.
“It's not going to make you feel great - and particularly after October 7, when it was at a music festival that hundreds were killed, raped, murdered by Hamas.”
Ofcom have said the BBC “clearly has questions to answer”.
How have politicians responded?
Conservatives have condemned the act for the chant, and the BBC for airing it.
Immediately after the performance Kemi Badenoch posted on X calling the chants “grotesque”.
She said: “Glorifying violence against Jews isn’t edgy. The West is playing with fire if we allow this sort of behaviour to go unchecked.
“It’s not just the act but the gormless people clapping along and cheering. People with no idea what real terror is.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp went further, accusing the BBC of having broken the law and calling on the police to “urgently investigate and prosecute the BBC” for the broadcast.
Keir Starmer has also criticised the performance as “appalling hate speech” and said the BBC must “explain how these scenes came to be broadcast.”
“Everyone is responding to their natural base here,” Emily Maitlis says.
“The idea that the Tories wouldn't have a lot of time for the BBC and Glastonbury is not breaking news to us.
“Keir Starmer is the one who feels that he's always had to tread this very careful line on the whole question of Gaza and Israel, and he's been adamant that whatever you feel politically about the situation, it shouldn't come down to anti-semitism at home.”
“To have hundreds, maybe even thousands of people chanting that alongside the members of the band is clearly a pretty unedifying spectacle.”
What’s The News Agents’ take?
Jon Sopel says his greatest point of concern is the length of time it took the BBC to remove the Bob Vylan set from its online services.
Taking five hours to take the set off of iPlayer was a “huge mistake,” he says, but adds that he has some sympathy for how it slipped through the net during the live stream.
“Of course, the plug should have been pulled earlier,” says Jon.
“I suspect that their people were concentrating on so many other things that nobody had noticed, but they bloody well should have done.”
The BBC has exclusive broadcasting rights for Glastonbury, something Jon says they paid a “huge sum of money” for - but the question arises of whether a state broadcaster, which commits to impartiality, can continue to be responsible for broadcasting a festival that’s become somewhat political.
“It’s perceived as this rather left wing festival,” Jon explains, highlighting the 2017 festival when Jeremy Corbyn took to the stage.
“Jeremy Corbyn was being venerated as this hero figure… Then you've got the BBC having to show impartiality - and it's bloody difficult - the BBC has now got itself into a right old mess over this.”
“I bet you you can imagine what it's like at New Broadcasting House today as they're trying to figure out, oh God, who's going to have to carry the can for this? What are we going to do? We've got the government on our back. We've got everybody on our back.”