English musician Sam Fender recently headlined Copenhagen’s Syd For Solen festival on Friday, August 8. While performing his hit song “Hypersonic Missiles” to thousands of cheering fans, Fender invited a special guest onto the stage, activist Greta Thunberg.
Thunberg has been vocal about condemning the actions being committed by Israel and urged the need for humanitarian aid in Gaza, actively trying to offer help herself. In June, Thunberg and many other activists, including “Game of Thrones” actor Liam Cunningam, were arrested by Israel and deported while trying to deliver aid across the Mediterranean to Gaza.
Thunberg, UNICEF ambassador Selma de Montgomery, Roba Al-Sharkwai and many more activists joined Fender on stage to protest against the current conflict and famine against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Protestors lined the stage with Palestinian flags as fans were heard cheering and clapping for the act done by Fender and the activists. Fender then took the time to speak out against the current famine in Gaza.
“Israel is committing a genocide, and starvation is being used as a weapon,” said Fender.
The microphone was passed down the line of activists, urging fans to “be on the right side of history,” by speaking out in support of Palestinians and condemning the actions currently being committed by Israel.
Together, audience members and those on stage finished Fender’s song “Hypersonic Missiles,” which contains the lyrics “I am so blissfully unaware of everything/ Kids in Gaza are bombed and I’m just so out of it.” After the song finished and his set concluded, a series of chants were shared between stage members and the audience.
“The world is watching,” said Thunberg. She then began a chant with the audience, yelling “Free Palestine,” as the audience cheered it back to her.
“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” chanted one activist.
“From Greenland to Palestine, occupation is a crime,” chanted another.
Fender isn’t the only musician to speak out against the current conflict between Hamas and Israel.
Irish hip hop trio “Kneecap” and many other Irish citizens have expressed companionship with Palestinians due many feeling that their history of colonization from Great Britain is reflective of what is currently happening between Israel and Palestinian territory. However, the trio has recently become enthralled in controversy, and even legal action, due to speaking out in support of Hamas.
In April, they made their debut at the Coachella music festival, a globally popular event held every year in California. During their performance, they spoke about the current crisis occurring in Gaza, accusing Israel of committing a US-funded genocide.
“Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” the group said in a message projected onto a large screen for the audience to read. “It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes.”
However, their vocalization escalated when a performance by the group in 2024 was investigated by counter-terrorism police in the UK.
On Nov. 21, During one of their shows in London, member Mo Chara, whose real name is Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, raised a flag in and shouted “up Hamas, up Hezbollah.” These two groups are banned in the UK due to being marked as terrorist organizations.
Hamas is currently in a nearly two-year conflict with Israel since launching attacks on the country on Oct. 7, 2023.
Ó hAnnaidh was later charged with a terror offense. However, the police investigation against the group was later dropped. On June 18, the trio took to social media to express their opinion regarding the arrest.
“Mo Chara’s real problem is that the message he put out landed,” the group said in a statement posted on X. “Working class people aren’t meant to speak out like this, organize like this, or connect struggles across borders like this. That’s what scares them.”
In the same statement, they expressed their anger in the double standard given towards those who are on opposing sides regarding the conflict.
“While Mo Chara stands in the dock for allegedly waving a flag, those complicit in a genocide walk the streets untouched. Since October 2023, over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza — entire families erased, journalists targeted, children bombed in their beds,” the trio said.
In the concluding sentence to their statement, they asked one question, “Which side are you on?”
Festivals, concerts or even small performances have been a gateway for artists to share their passion towards issues to an audience of a larger scale. At the end of the day, art is political. Whether it be on small social issues, such as relationship problems, or more global issues, such as current humanitarian crises, music has been a way for artists to emotionally connect to listeners who share the same concerns. It creates bridges for people across the world to connect and push to change for the better.
