Barclays has pulled out as sponsor of Isle of Wight Festival 2024, after bands started boycotting UK events in protest over the bank’s ties to defence companies supplying Israel and fossil fuel firms.
Barclaycard has been removed from the festival's website as well as those of Download and Latitude, as it suspended its sponsorship of the events.
It comes after several bands, including Pest Control, Speed, Scowl, Zulu and Ithaca withdrew from this weekend's Download festival.
A spokesperson for Live Nation told PA: “Following discussion with artists, we have agreed with Barclays that they will step back from sponsorship of our festivals.”
Campaign group Bands Boycott Barclays, which has been leading the protests, said 163 acts, four showcases and two venues previously pulled out of the Barclaycard-sponsored Great Escape festival in Brighton in May.
Following Live Nation’s announcement, the protest group wrote on Instagram: “This is a victory for the Palestinian-led global BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement.
“As musicians, we were horrified that our music festivals were partnered with Barclays, who are complicit in the genocide in Gaza through investment, loans and underwriting of arms companies supplying the Israeli military.
“Hundreds of artists have taken action this summer to make it clear that this is morally reprehensible, and we are glad we have been heard.
“Our demand to Barclays is simple: divest from the genocide, or face further boycotts. Boycotting Barclays, also Europe’s primary funder of fossil fuels, is the minimum we can do to call for change.”
The Isle of Wight County Press was not aware of any bands pulling out of the Isle of Wight Festival, which runs from June 20-23.
Climate campaigners also welcomed the move to suspend the Barclaycard sponsorship.
Joanna Warrington at Fossil Free London said: “Barclays is a rotten bank: artists, brands, clients, and customers are all abandoning Barclays because of the billions Barclays is ploughing into fossil fuel companies like Shell and Israeli arms companies dropping bombs on innocent Palestinian children.
“This won’t stop until Barclays stops funding destruction.”
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