Hungary bans Irish rap group Kneecap from entering ahead of festival performance

Hundreds of figures from Hungary’s music and cultural community signed a petition calling for Kneecap’s performance to be cancelled.

By The Associated Press

Members of the Irish-language rap group Kneecap were banned from entering Hungary ahead of their scheduled performance at the popular Sziget Festival as authorities argued the musicians’ presence in the country would constitute a risk to national security.

The Belfast trio, scheduled to play on Sziget’s closing day on Aug. 11, is known for anarchic energy, satirical lyrics and use of symbolism associated with the Irish republican movement, which seeks to unite Northern Ireland, currently part of the U.K., with the Republic of Ireland.

The group has faced criticism for lyrics laden with expletives and drug references and for political statements seeming to glorify terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

Kneecap has accused critics of trying to silence the band because of its support for the Palestinian cause throughout Israel’s war in Gaza and say they don’t support Hezbollah and Hamas nor condone violence.

Hungary’s immigration authority, the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing, published decrees on Thursday declaring Kneecap members Naoise Ó Cairealláin, J.J. Ó Dochartaigh and Liam Óg ÓhAnnaidh would be banned from Hungary’s territory for three years since their “entry and stay constitute a serious threat to national security.”

Government spokesman Zoltán Kovács wrote on social platform X that the decision to ban Kneecap was due to “antisemitic hate speech and open praise for Hamas and Hezbollah.”

Hungarian authorities and other groups had earlier pushed Sziget Festival to cancel the band’s performance.

Hungary’s minister for European affairs, János Bóka, noted the government’s “zero-tolerance” policy toward antisemitism in a July 11 letter to the festival’s organizers.

Hundreds of figures from Hungary’s music and cultural community also have signed a petition calling for Kneecap’s performance to be cancelled.

Festival representatives said the decision was “unnecessary and regrettable” and could serve to “not only damage the reputation of Sziget, but also negatively affect Hungary’s standing worldwide.”

“Sziget Festival’s values mean we condemn hate speech, while guaranteeing the fundamental right to artistic freedom of expression for every performer,” organizers wrote in a statement. “Cancel culture and cultural boycotts are not the solution.”

Kneecap performed in April at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California, where they accused Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians enabled by the U.S. government.

That sparked calls for the rappers’ U.S. visas to be revoked and several Kneecap gigs have since been canceled as a result.