Irish band The Mary Wallopers said they were “cut off” from performing at Victorious Festival in Portsmouth on Friday (22 August) for “having a Palestinian flag on the stage”.
Footage showed the folk group displaying the flag on stage and beginning their set by saying: “Free Palestine and f*** Israel.”
A spokesperson for the festival said the band had its set cut short for using a “discriminatory” chant.
“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,” Victorious said.
“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.”
