Many fans of Irish folk singer Hozier were disappointed after British broadcaster BBC did not air the artist’s headline set at the Reading and Leeds Festival on August 22, alleging that it was due to his speech in support of Palestine.
The festival also featured performances from Chappell Roan and The Kooks, which can be viewed on BBC iPlayer.
However, despite being the event’s headliner, Hozier’s set remains unpublished.
The BBC, as well as the festival’s organizer, have explained that the decision not to livestream and upload the performance online was mutually agreed upon by Hozier, his team and the broadcaster.
‘A Palestine that’s free from occupation’
During his performance, Hozier praised artists such as Nina Simone, Woody Guthrie, Joan Baez and Ewan MacColl for telling the truth through their music.
Hozier, who shot to fame with the song ‘Take Me To Church’, noted how he has been calling on people for the past two years to “use their rights of free speech, use their democratic voices, use their purchasing power, whatever it is that they can do, to support a meaningful political solution for the kind of violence we’ve been seeing on our TV screens over the last two years.”
“Not lip service, but a meaningful peace process, a meaningful political investment that would bring about peace and safety and security for everybody in that region,” he said, as quoted by NME.
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He continued: “I think people want to see human beings live in peace and safety, and security. I think that people would want to see that for their neighbours.
“They would want to see that for members of their community. I believe that people would want to see people they don’t know live with peace and safety, and security.
“They wouldn’t want to see their neighbours live in fear of hatred or racism. Wouldn’t want to see their Jewish friends live in the fear of anti-Semitism, and Muslim brothers and sisters live in the fear of Islamophobia.
“They want to see their members of the LGBTQ community treated with respect and dignity, and peace.”
Addressing the ongoing conflict in Gaza, Hozier added: “Safety and security for everybody in the Middle East means seeing a Palestine that’s free from occupation, that’s free from these cycles of genocide and violence, and it means seeing a Palestine that’s free to move towards meaningful self-determination and statehood.”
Although he did not drop a name, Hozier also expressed support for Palestine Action, an organisation recently declared as a terrorist group by the United Kingdom government.
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“I know I don’t need to tell you that spray painting an aeroplane does not constitute an act of terrorism, or supporting the people who do does not constitute an act of terrorism. I know you know that,” he told thousands of the cheering festival audience.
“Or indeed, Irish musicians rapping or supporting the people of Palestine is not an act of terrorism either,” he continued, referring to rap group Kneecap, whose member Mo Chara appeared in court on August 20 over terrorism charges filed against him for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag onstage at a London show last year.
Hozier concluded his impassioned speech by calling on everyone to “use your voice, use your kind power, use your vote in any way from that place of empathy and compassion to support peace and safety and security and free policy.”
Hozier chose not to be included in coverage: BBC
Fans of the musician took to X to express anger and disappointment over BBC not livestreaming nor publishing Hozier’s speech and performance.
“Imagine having Hozier as a HEADLINER at Reading/Leeds and then choosing not to stream his set because he’s too political and you’re scared of Israel. The BBC is so embarrassing,” X user @gooseberrydream wrote, according to The Metro.
Another user, @mountbellyache, posted: “The BBC didn’t stream his headline set for fear of what Hozier might say about Palestine. The average Irish citizen has more integrity in their little finger than the entire BBC and Labour Party put together.”
In a statement to The Metro, BBC said, “Viewers can enjoy a wide range of performances and highlights from Reading and Leeds Festival on BBC iPlayer, BBC Music’s YouTube channel, BBC One and Radio 1.”
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“As mutually agreed ahead of Reading Festival, Hozier chose not to be included in the BBC’s coverage,” the BBC added.
Meanwhile, the official Reading and Leeds Festival account on TikTok uploaded a video on Monday with the full audio of Hozier’s speech.
In the post’s caption, the organizer said: “Hozier’s set wasn’t filmed by the BBC because he & his management wanted to control the output with their own director.”
“The BBC couldn’t agree to that, so Hozier & his team performed and directed the screen output for the Reading & Leeds audience only,” it added.
Hozier and his team have yet to issue a separate statement regarding the matter as of time of writing.
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No ‘high risk’ performances
The BBC has been previously criticized for broadcasting British punk-rap duo Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury set in June, whose lead singer, Bobby Vylan, led chants of “death, death to the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces)”.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the performance contained “appalling hate speech” and added that the BBC has “questions to answer,” NPR reported.
The incident prompted the BBC to “make immediate changes to livestreaming music events.”
“Any music performances deemed high risk by the BBC will now not be broadcast live or streamed live” in the future, the broadcaster said in a previous statement.
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