Fontaines D.C. have cancelled a planned gig in Istanbul in solidarity with Palestine, saying: “we must be clear in our convictions.”
The band were due to play the Zorlu PSM venue in Istanbul on August 20, but after speaking to “Palestinian artists and human rights activists”, the band have decided to cancel their planned show with full refunds being available to fans who bought tickets.
The band cited the “global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement” who have been calling on artists to refuse to play the venue after claiming that Zorlu Energy part owns a plant that supplies five to eight per cent of Israel’s energy.
In a post on their Instagram Stories, Fontaines D.C. wrote: “The global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, led by the largest Palestinian coalition, has called on artists to refuse to play Zorlu PSM until Zorlu fully divests from the supply of energy to Israel while it carries out what the International Court of Justice now agrees is plausibly a genocide.
“We were really looking forward to visiting and playing beautiful Istanbul, however in this instance, we must be clear in our convictions and put solidarity with the people of Palestine first. We promise to play in Turkey as soon as we can make it possible.”
You can see the post below:
Fontaines D.C. have shown much support for Palestine over the last few months. Back in December, the band teamed up with Massive Attack and Young Fathers to release a limited edition 12” single to support the charity Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
100 per cent of the profits from the single were donated to the charity to help their emergency operations in Gaza and the West Bank. In a statement, the artists also called for an immediate ceasefire in the region, “in solidarity with the Palestinian people living under a brutal military operation.”
The band also donated $2,000 (£1,565) to a Palestine relief charity after winning a viral music quiz on TikTok.
The Dublin band participated in Track Star – a Public Opinion series in which players have to listen to a song and correctly guess the artist on the streets of New York City. As the quiz goes on, the guests are awarded an increasing amount of money.
Frontman Grian Chatten and guitarist Carlos O’Connell managed to identify a variety of tunes by the likes of The Strokes, Thin Lizzy, The Libertines and The Ramones – winning a total of $2,560 (£2,003) for doing so.
“We could take it and like, have an amazing night,” said O’Connell, before Chatten suggested: “I think we should give it to charity, man.” The host responded: “If you guys give it to charity, I’ll give you like 100 bucks and you can get some beers.”
Chatten then confirmed that they would be donating the cash prize to Doctors Without Borders “for Palestine” amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict. The charity provides “medical assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare”.
The band’s Carlos O’Connell also read ‘Voices For Gaza’ letters of Palestinian’s war experience alongside artists including Brian Eno, Michael Stipe and Bastille’s Dan Smith recently.
Clips of the readings were shared on the Instagram page for Voices For Gaza that saw famous faces from across the entertainment industry read letters from those in Palestine aloud, recalling the graphic details of the war.
It also comes as many artists boycotted festivals this year over links to Israel.
A large number of acts, including Gruff Rhys, Kneecap, Sprints, Lambrini Girls, Gel, Rachel Chinouriri, Cardinals and NewDad dropped out of SXSW earlier this year, due to that festival’s ties to the US Army and weapons companies amid the Israel-Gaza conflict.
There was also a major boycott of The Great Escape in Brighton due to its ties with Barclays. Over 100 acts dropped out in solidarity with Palestine – constituting approximately a quarter of the full programme.
Latitude, Download and the Isle Of White festival all faced similar protests. Eventually, Barclays withdrawn their sponsorship of Download, Latitude and Isle of Wight, with the bank no longer being listed on their official websites.
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