Irish folk music band The Mary Wallopers have said they were “cut off” from performing at a British music festival for “having a Palestinian flag on the stage”.
The band were performing at Victorious Festival in Portsmouth on Friday, an event which is set to feature Vampire Weekend, The Kaiser Chiefs and Kings of Leon over the weekend.
In a post on Instagram following their set, the band said: “Just got cut off at Victorious Festival for having a Palestinian flag on the stage.
“We’ve been doing this for 6 years now and this has never happened before. Free Palestine all day every day.”
However, a spokesperson for the festival said the band had their set cut short for using a “discriminatory” chant.
Our good pals The Mary Wallopers have just been pulled off stage and the PA shut down at @VictoriousFest in Portsmouth for taking out a 🇵🇸 flag and saying Free Palestine.
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) August 22, 2025
Speak up against genocide in England and you're treated like a criminal.
Up the Mary Wallopers 💚🤍🧡… pic.twitter.com/l9XdBL1jcm
In a statement, a spokesperson for Victorious said: “We spoke to the artist before the performance regarding the festival’s long-standing policy of not allowing flags of any kind at the event, but that we respect their right to express their views during the show.
“Although a flag was displayed on stage contrary to our policy, and this was raised with the artist’s crew, the show was not ended at this point, and it was the artist’s decision to stop the song.
“The decision by the event management to cut the sound and end the performance was only taken after the band used a chant which is widely understood to have a discriminatory context.
“To be clear, we respect the right of artists to use their platform to express their views within the inclusive nature of the event and it was not the band’s call to ‘Free Palestine’ which resulted in this outcome.”
The Mary Wallopers received support from Irish rap trio Kneecap, who wrote in a post on X: “Our good pals The Mary Wallopers have just been pulled off stage and the PA shut down at @VictoriousFest in Portsmouth for taking out a Palestinian flag and saying Free Palestine.
“Speak up against genocide in England and you’re treated like a criminal. Up the Mary Wallopers.
“Free Palestine! Free the 6 counties!”
It comes after the BBC last month issued an apology for the divisive set by punk rap duo Bob Vylan at Glastonbury in June.
The broadcaster apologised for the group’s “deplorable behaviour” after frontman, Bobby Vylan, whose real name is reportedly Pascal Robinson-Foster, led crowds in chants of “death, death to the IDF” (Israel Defence Forces) during their set at the festival which was shown live on TV and the iPlayer.
Avon and Somerset Police have also launched an investigation into comments made during the group’s West Holts Stage performance.
