Hungary has banned the Irish rap group Kneecap from entering the country and performing at the Sziget Festival, citing antisemitic hate speech and alleged praise for Hamas and Hezbollah, according to a government spokesperson, reports Reuters.
“Hungary’s government has moved to ban Kneecap… citing antisemitic hate speech and open praise for Hamas and Hezbollah as justification,” government spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs wrote on X (Twitter).
Kovacs later posted official letters from immigration authorities, which stated the group’s presence would “seriously threaten national security.”
Kneecap, based in Belfast, frequently displays pro-Palestinian messages during concerts. Their frontman, Mo Chara, drew criticism in June at the Glastonbury Festival, where he accused Israel of committing “war crimes”—an allegation Israel strongly denies.
Mo Chara is currently facing terrorism charges in the UK for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a 2023 concert. He denies the charge, insisting that the band “condemns all attacks on civilians, always.”
In response to the ban, Kneecap accused Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government of political manoeuvring: “There is no legal basis for his actions, no member of Kneecap has ever been convicted of any crime in any country.”
The Sziget Festival organisers, who had previously resisted government calls to remove Kneecap from the line-up, called the move “unprecedented and regrettable.”
“We condemn hate speech, while guaranteeing artistic freedom of expression… Cancel culture and cultural boycotts are not the solution,” they stated.
More than 150 artists and cultural figures, including Oscar-winning director László Nemes Jeles, signed a petition protesting Kneecap’s performance ahead of the scheduled concert on 11 August.
This year’s festival features international stars such as Post Malone, Shawn Mendes, and Charli XCX.
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