Hungary bans Irish rap group Kneecap from entering ahead of festival

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BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungary banned the Irish-language rap group Kneecap from the country Thursday ahead of their scheduled performance at the popular Sziget Festival, with officials arguing that the musicians’ presence would pose 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 militant 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 ” Caireallain, J.J. ” Dochartaigh and Liam ”g ”hAnnaidh would be banned from Hungary’s territory for three years since their “entry and stay constitute a serious threat to national security.” 

Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs wrote on social media 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, Janos Boka, 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 have also 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.” 

In a statement on their social media channels, Kneecap blamed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for the ban, calling his government “authoritarian” and criticizing him for welcoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Hungary in April despite a warrant for his arrest from the International Criminal Court over accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity. 

“We stand against all hate crimes and Kneecap champions love and solidarity as well as calling out injustices where we see it,” the band wrote. 

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. 

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