Festival confirms Kneecap to remain as headliners

A rock music festival has announced Kneecap will remain as one of its headliners after one of the band's members was charged with a terror offence.

2000trees festival, near Cheltenham, has confirmed the Irish language rap group will still perform at the event on Saturday 12 July.

It comes after Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs in Kneecap under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence after allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed organisation Hezbollah at a London gig in November 2024.

In a statement, the band denied an offence was committed and called it "political policing" and "a carnival of distraction" away from Gaza.

Hezbollah is a Shia Muslim political and military group in Lebanon which has been involved in a series of violent conflicts. It is banned in the UK, and it is a crime to express support for them.

After Mr Ó hAnnaidh was charged, the band was removed from the line-up of Glasgow's TRNSMT Festival due to police concerns about safety.

Other Kneecap gigs scheduled this summer - including at the Eden Project in Cornwall and Plymouth Pavilions - were cancelled after footage from a 2023 gig appeared to show a band member saying: "The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP."

The Belfast trio has since apologised to the families of murdered MPs Sir David Amess and Jo Cox.

Now, 2000trees festival has confirmed it has no plans to remove Kneecap from its line-up.

A spokesperson for the festival said: "If their recent shows in London are anything to go by, this promises to be one of the most memorable headline sets we've ever had at 2000trees.

"You may have even seen Kneecap at 2000trees before, this will be their third visit after all. But headlining the main stage this summer is going to be something else entirely.

"We will all be there in the pit with you for one of the most exciting, fun and historic sets you'll see this summer."

The BBC contacted 2000trees to ask if it has any security concerns in relation to Kneecap's performance, or is putting additional measures in place, and is awaiting a response.

Kneecap was formed in 2017 by three friends who go by the stage names of Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí.

The trio are still due to perform at Glastonbury Festival, the UK's biggest festival, where they are listed on the line-up for Saturday 28 June.

Speaking during a performance at London's Wide Awake festival last week, Mr Ó hAnnaidh - who is due to appear in court next month - claimed the authorities were "trying to silence" the band before Glastonbury.

The BBC has contacted Glastonbury Festival for a comment.

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