I’ve dipped in and out of the BBC’s Glastonbury coverage. When I switch it on, there appear to be lots of Palestinian flags on show and statements from various artists. However, there has been no official mention or commemoration of the massacre that took place at the Nova Music Festival on October 7 in southern Israel.
Quick reminder, because it seems necessary: 364 people were murdered there. Others were taken hostage. They were doing exactly what the crowds at Glastonbury are doing – dancing with their friends at a music festival. I have seen documentary footage from the atrocity, spoken to the families of some of those taken hostage and written about it for The Spectator. The footage is utterly traumatising.
I know it was over eight months ago, but this is the first festival season since that awful day, but nothing… And it’s not like the conflict isn’t being mentioned at Worthy Farm. I have not heard a single artist call for the release of the remaining hostages though, some of whom were taken from Nova. Of course, there has been not even the briefest of mentions of the massacre during the BBC coverage either.
Nova Victims Forgotten at Glastonbury
British gig-goers, rightly, remembered the Bataclan murders for months back in 2015. However, I know of only a couple of heavily outnumbered Nova flags at this year’s Glastonbury. I did quite enjoy Friday headliner Dua Lipa finding herself next to a pride flag emblazoned with a Star of David as she stood next to a big Palestinian flag.
I find it hard to imagine that a massacre could take place at a music festival in any other country in the world and it would be so roundly ignored by both festivalgoers and the media covering them.
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It’s shameful but sadly not surprising.