Glastonbury 2025: BBC confirm plans to air Kneecap’s set

Posted On June 4, 2025June 4, 2025

Irish rap trio Kneecap’s set at Glastonbury Festival is set to be broadcast by the BBC despite the band’s Mo Chara being charged with a terror offence last month.

Chara, real name Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, is set to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 18th, and the group have encouraged fans to show support on the day of the hearing. The charge relates to two on-stage incidents from shows in London in 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Before the Metropolitan Police made any formal charge, politicians such as the Labour MP for Hemel Hempstead, David Taylor, called for Kneecap’s removal at Glastonbury in 2025. In a letter to Michael Eavis, Taylor said Kneecap would be “undermining its proud tradition of promoting peace, unity and social responsibility”.

It has since been reported that Taylor wrote to Glastonbury on four occasions regarding Kneecap’s removal, but they didn’t issue a response.

Following Glastonbury unveiling their full line-up, which includes Kneecap, a spokesperson from the broadcaster told The I that the group would be part of their coverage. They ensured: “As the broadcast partner, the BBC will be bringing audiences extensive music coverage from Glastonbury, with artists booked by the festival organisers.”

The statement added: “Whilst the BBC doesn’t ban artists, our plans will ensure that our programming will meet our editorial guidelines. Decisions about our broadcast output will be made in the lead up to the festival.”

It was also suggested that the BBC could potentially put a delay on the live broadcast of Kneecap’s set on BBC iPlayer and condense it down for the set, which is later uploaded to the streaming platform.

Kneecap made their live comeback last month with an intimate show at the 100 Club in London before headlining Wide Awake in Brockwell Park.

However, they have since been removed from the TRNSMT line-up in Glasgow, with the festival citing security concerns as their reasoning. Kneecap have since announced a headline show at Glasgow’s O2 Academy, which sold out in a matter of minutes.

Kneecap will perform on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival on June 28th at 4pm.

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