Hungary’s right-wing government has banned Kneecap from entering the country for three years citing “antisemitic hate speech”.
Zoltan Kovacs, Secretary of State for International Communication said on Twitter.
🛑 Hungary’s government has moved to ban @KneecapCEOL
from entering the country and performing at @szigetofficial —citing antisemitic hate speech and open praise for Hamas and Hezbollah as justification.⚠️ The official message: “zero tolerance for antisemitism” and a duty to protect Hungarian – especially Jewish – communities. The government insists that festival organizers must ensure compliance with Hungarian law and morally sound programming.
🎯 The real issue: this isn’t just protest – it’s support for terror, celebration of extremist violence and a clear anti‑Semitic statement. Granting them a stage normalizes hate and terror, and puts democratic values on the line.
The Sziget festival also shared this statement after the news broke:
At 11:00 a.m. today, we received official notice that the Hungarian Government will deny entry to the band Kneecap into Hungarian territory in order to prevent them performing at Sziget on August 11. This is an unprecedented move which we believe is both unnecessary and regrettable.Following concerns raised by Government and pressure groups across Hungary over the past weeks at the prospect of Kneecap performing, we have liaised closely with the band and they reassured us that their performance would not contravene either Sziget’s values or Hungarian law.
Sziget Festival’s values mean we condemn hate speech, while guaranteeing the fundamental right to artistic freedom of expression for every performer. Cancel culture and cultural boycotts are not the solution.
Over the past 30 years, Sziget has served as a free and safe place for different cultures, hosting artists and visitors from around the world , earning significant recognition in the international community and enhancing Hungary’s reputation. We fear that government’s decision announced today to ban Kneecap may not only damage the reputation of Sziget, but also negatively affect Hungary’s standing worldwide.
Sziget Festival will continue to do everything in its power to remain, in every sense, The Island of Freedom.
Last week, it was announced that €40,000 of funding from the French town of Saint-Cloud for the Rock En Seine in Paris was being pulled due to Kneecap’s involvement in the festival.
For the record, there is nothing antisemitic about what Kneecap have said.
In Kneecap’s confirmed court case, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was released on unconditional bail, with the legal case set for August 20th.
The Kneecap member known as Mo Chara was charged for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at the band’s gig in O2 Forum, Kentish Town on November 21st on “reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organisation, namely Hizballah.”
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán recently banned pride marches in the country, and has clashed with Sziget organiser in recent years over their support for LGBTQ+ rights.
In recent years, the government demanded that the LBGTQ+ stage at the festival Magic Mirror be made inaccessible to anyone under the age of 18, which they resisted.
Sziget Festival is owned by Superstruct who are owned by global equity firm KKR who have documented ties to both weapons manufacturers and Israeli companies developing data centres and advertising real estate on illegally occupied land.
Superstruct own 80 festivals and brands like Sonar, Sziget, Boiler Room, Oya, Field Day and Mighty Hoopla and many artists have cancelled playing these festivals this year in protest.
Sziget takes place from August 6th to 11th.
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005 . He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Cara Magazine, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, founder of Lumo Club, club promoter, event curator and producer of gigs, listening parties & events in Dublin.
