Irish rock punk band Fontaines DC perform on stage at Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona. EPA
Irish rock punk band Fontaines DC perform on stage at Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona. EPA
Irish rock punk band Fontaines DC perform on stage at Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona. EPA
Irish rock punk band Fontaines DC perform on stage at Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona. EPA

Fontaines DC and Idles show support for Palestine at Primavera Sound


Saeed Saeed
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Spain’s Primavera Sound is the latest major music festival where artists have expressed solidarity with Palestinians.

Held over four days in Barcelona and concluding on Sunday, the event featured headline performances by Irish band Fontaines DC and UK group Idles, both of whom voiced support for Palestinians.

During their Primavera set on Saturday, Fontaines DC performed beneath a “Free Palestine” banner and a projected message that read: “Israel is committing genocide. Use your voice".

The gesture followed the band’s signing of an open letter condemning attempts to silence fellow Irish group Kneecap, who faced calls for a US visa ban after declaring onstage at Coachella in April that Israel was committing genocide. That festival also featured public support for Palestine from Green Day, Blonde Redhead and a surprise appearance by US Senator Bernie Sanders.

On Thursday, Idles opened their Primavera set with frontman Joe Talbot shouting “Free Palestine” before launching into the track Colossus. He later led the crowd in chants of “Viva Palestina", meaning “long live Palestine".

Elsewhere, in London’s Olympic Stadium on Friday, British singer-songwriter Sam Fender also spotlighted the situation in Gaza during one of his biggest concerts to date. Introducing his 2018 track Hypersonic Missiles, Fender told the crowd: “It breaks my heart – and it’s probably more relevant now than it was then". He also encouraged fans to scan a QR code linking to medical charity Doctors Without Borders to support its work in Gaza.

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Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym

Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army

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Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's

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In 2018, the ICRC received 27,756 trace requests in the Middle East alone. The global total was 45,507.

 

There are 139,018 global trace requests that have not been resolved yet, 55,672 of these are in the Middle East region.

 

More than 540,000 individuals approached the ICRC in the Middle East asking to be reunited with missing loved ones in 2018.

 

The total figure for the entire world was 654,000 in 2018.

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