Kneecap have been banned from entering Hungary for three years — just two weeks before they were set to play Budapest’s Sziget Festival. Authorities argue that the Northern Irish rap trio’s scheduled performance “posed a national security threat.”
“[Kneecap]’s members repeatedly engage in antisemitic hate speech supporting terrorism and terrorist groups,” government spokesman Zoltán Kovács wrote on X/Twitter. “Hungary has zero tolerance for antisemitism in any form.”
Kovács added, “The government insists that festival organizers must ensure compliance with Hungarian law and morally sound programming. The real issue: this isn’t just protest — it’s support for terror, celebration of extremist violence and a clear anti‑Semitic statement.”
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In a statement of their own, Kneecap pointed out the hypocrisy of welcoming “wanted war criminal” Benjamin Netanyahu “like a hero” just weeks earlier. “The authoritarian government of Viktor Orban say we ‘pose a national security threat,’” they wrote. “There is no legal basis for his actions, no member of Kneecap has ever been convicted of any crime in any country. We stand against all hate crimes and Kneecap champions love and solidarity as well as calling out injustices where we see it.”
Echoing several of their previous statements, Kneecap said the government’s action was a “political distraction and a further attempt to silence those who call out genocide against the Palestinian people.”
For its part, Sziget Festival condemned the decision. “This is an unprecedented move which we believe is both unnecessary and regrettable,” a statement read, adding that they had worked closely with Kneecap to ensure their performance “would not contravene either Sziget’s values or Hungarian law.”
Kneecap’s ban from Hungary comes months after several of their concerts were canceled in Germany, amid backlash to their pro-Palestine, anti-Israel Coachella 2025 performance. Since then, member Mo Chara has been charged with a terror offense for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah during a previous concert.
The group’s performance at Glastonbury 2025, which saw them leading chants of “Fuck [UK prime minister] Keir Starmer” and “Free, free Palestine,” resulted in a separate criminal investigation, which was dropped earlier this month.
📢 As I’ve already announced. Here it is, straight from the Government Information Center:
🚫 @KneecapCEOL’s members repeatedly engage in antisemitic hate speech supporting terrorism and terrorist groups. Hungary has zero tolerance for antisemitism in any form.
❌Their planned…
— Zoltan Kovacs (@zoltanspox) July 24, 2025
🛑 Hungary’s government has moved to ban @KneecapCEOL from entering the country and performing at @szigetofficial—citing antisemitic hate speech and open praise for Hamas and Hezbollah as justification.
⚠️ The official message: “zero tolerance for antisemitism” and a duty to…
— Zoltan Kovacs (@zoltanspox) July 24, 2025
A message for all who’d hoped to see us on stage at Sziget in 2 weeks👇❤️ pic.twitter.com/JKFuKIkAf4
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) July 24, 2025