Barclays suspends sponsorship of all Live Nation Events, including Download Fest

As reported by the Guardian, Barclays Bank has suspended sponsorship of all Live Nation events, including download Fest. The move comes as a result of a number of bands dropping off Download Fest, including Scowl, Zulu, and Speed, due to the fact that Barclays provides financial services to defense companies supplying Israel. Barclays signed a 5-year deal with livenation in 2023.
Livenation issued a statement that read in part: ": “Following discussion with artists, we have agreed with Barclays that they will step back from sponsorship of our festivals.”
A spokesperson for Barclays told the Guardian: “Barclays was asked and has agreed to suspend participation in the remaining Live Nation festivals in 2024. Barclays customers who hold tickets to these festivals are not affected and their tickets remain valid. The protesters’ agenda is to have Barclays debank defence companies which is a sector we remain committed to as an essential part of keeping this country and our allies safe. They have resorted to intimidating our staff, repeated vandalism of our branches and online harassment. The only thing that this small group of activists will achieve is to weaken essential support for cultural events enjoyed by millions. It is time that leaders across politics, business, academia and the arts stand united against this.”
Numerous acts dropped off Barclays sponsored events earlier this year, including 100 acts that pulled out of playing the Barclaycard-sponsored Great Escape festival in Brighton in May.