Kneecap’s Glastonbury performance will be available on iPlayer, but not live

Kneecap, the Irish-language rap trio, will not have their Glastonbury set streamed live, as confirmed by the BBC. The group was originally scheduled to perform on the West Holts stage at 4pm on Saturday, but the BBC explained that, while they would not be broadcasting the performance in real time, it would be made available on-demand via iPlayer starting Saturday evening. The decision follows some controversy surrounding one of the band’s members, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh (Mo Chara), who is facing a terrorism charge after allegedly displaying a flag associated with Hezbollah at a concert in November 2024. Although he denies the charge, the incident has sparked debate, with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer suggesting the group should be banned from the festival. The BBC, while confirming the delay in live streaming, emphasized their commitment to offering extensive coverage of Glastonbury’s musical acts, noting that over 90 other sets would be streamed online. The broadcaster stressed that they do not ban artists but maintain editorial guidelines to determine programming content.