CMAT has withdrawn from Latitude Festival due to its ties to Israel.
The Irish singer, 28, was due to perform at the event in Suffolk in July but announced she would no longer attend as the main sponsor is Barclays, which has been accused of funding Israel’s attacks on Palestine.
Europe’s largest Palestinian rights group, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), has called on people to boycott Barclays and the bank branch has been the subject of protests in recent weeks.
In a lengthy Instagram post on Thursday, CMAT – real name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson – revealed it had asked Latitude to reconsider its sponsorship choice and warned it would not act if it refused to cut ties with the bank.
Claiming she was ‘utterly devastated’ by the decision, she shared her hopes to perform at Latitude in the future and called on her followers to ‘show solidarity’ with the people of Palestine by also boycotting Barclays.
Irish singer CMAT has withdrawn from the Latitude Festival due to her ties to Israel. She told her fans in a lengthy Instagram post on Thursday that she was “totally devastated” by the decision.
The Irish singer, 28, was due to perform at the event in Suffolk in July but is no longer attending as the main sponsor is Barclays – which has been accused of funding Israel’s attacks on Palestine (pictured on BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend on Sunday). )
Alongside photos of herself ahead of her first Latitude performance, CMAT shared: ‘Hello everyone, I am very sorry to announce that I am officially withdrawing from playing the main stage at Latitude festival 2024.
“You may or may not know it, but Latitude’s main sponsor is Barclay’s bank, which has been found to have increased their financing of several companies that supply weapons and military technology to Israel.
‘Specifically, it has invested more than £100 million in General Dynamics, which supplies weapons systems to the fighter jets used by Israel to bomb Gaza.
‘I made Latitude aware of what my decision would be weeks ago, but I was hoping that given all the press surrounding the brave artists who withdrew from The Great Escape festival for the same reasons, Latitude would divest from Barclays or another would find a sponsor. .
“This has not happened and it has been made clear to me that this will not happen. That is why I am now officially withdrawing.
“I will not allow my precious work, my music, which I love so much, to be forcibly put to bed. Myself and the entire CMAT tour crew that I love so much refuse to be complicit in genocide.
‘I want to say how absolutely devastated I am that it has come to this. I love Latitude Festival, they gave me one of my first major festival slots in 2021, and playing the Sunrise Arena is one of my most cherished memories ever.
‘(The image used here is me heading to the stage. I was so excited! It was the first time I had met so many people who believed in me and I had been looking forward to the full circle moment this slot would have provided me, the band and my fans.
In a lengthy Instagram post on Thursday, CMAT – real name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson – revealed she had asked Latitude to reconsider their choice of sponsor
CMAT also shared photos of herself attending a pro-Palestine rally, while calling on her followers to “show solidarity” with the Palestinian people by also boycotting Barclays.
CMAT continued: ‘I really hope to play this festival again in the future under different circumstances and under a different sponsor.
“I also want to say that I am so sorry for letting down anyone who came to visit us at Latitude. I really hope I can make it up to you somehow, and I hope you understand my choice not to play.
“I toyed with the idea of getting involved and donating our fees, but honestly, that’s not what the BDS movement is asking of me, and I can never claim to know more than they do.
‘Let me be clear. There is currently a genocide taking place in Palestine. All I can do as a citizen is participate in as many demonstrations as possible and try to follow the advice of the BDS boycott list as best as possible. This falls under that promotion.
“I hope that as many of you as possible who read this will choose to show your solidarity with the Palestinian people in whatever way they can.
‘Boycott Barclays. Liberate Palestine. Lots of love, CMAT XXX [sic].’
Europe’s largest Palestinian rights organisation, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), had called on people to boycott Barclays.
“Barclays Bank owns more than £1 billion of shares and provides more than £3 billion in loans and guarantees to nine companies whose weapons, components and military technology are used by Israel in its attacks on Palestinians,” the group said at the time. .
“This includes General Dynamics, which produces the weapons systems that arm the fighter jets used by Israel to bomb Gaza, and Elbit Systems, which produces armored drones, ammunition and artillery weapons used by the Israeli military.”
A Barclays spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘We provide essential financial services to US, UK and European government companies that supply defense products to NATO and its allies.’
‘Barclays does not invest directly in these companies. The defense sector is fundamental to our national security and the UK government has made it clear that supporting defense companies is compatible with ESG considerations.”
“Decisions on the implementation of arms embargoes against other countries are the responsibility of the respective elected governments.”
MailOnline has contacted Latitude Festival for comment.
Earlier this year, CMAT raised eyebrows when she attended the BRIT Awards in a daring dress after being nominated for International Artist of the Year
Born in Dublin, CMAT moved to Manchester in her teens to launch her music career, before returning to her native Ireland, where she now lives.
Her debut studio album If My Wife New I’d Be Dead was released in February 2022 and reached No. 1 in Ireland and won the RTÉ Choice Music Prize last year.
The singer, who is bisexual, is also a staunch advocate for LGBTQ rights.
Earlier this year, CMAT raised eyebrows when she attended the BRIT Awards in a daring dress.
The singer was nominated for International Artist of the Year alongside Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift and got people talking with her dress, which had a flared back that showed off her bum.
Speaking about the reaction on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, she said she made sure that ‘the amount of bum on show was the same as the average amount of cleavage’ typically seen, adding that her outfit was no different of different looks.
CMAT claimed: ‘I think mine caused a stir because it is large and because I am a size 14 instead of a size six which is often seen on television, especially when it comes to musicians and pop stars.
‘I had a lot of people who were very angry that I would do something like that. They were shocked, and people were very angry and aggressive in their comments, telling me I had to go to the gym. The response was crazy.”
Speaking to 6 Music, she added: ‘A lot of people in the comments are saying, ‘She’s looking for attention! She’s an attention seeker!’ So? Yes, that’s my job!’
CMAT’s decision comes after Hay Festival ‘caved in’ to growing boycott pressure and ended its long-standing sponsorship deal with a company in light of its investments in fossil fuels and Israel.
CMAT’s debut studio album If My Wife New I’d Be Dead was released in February 2022 and reached No. 1 in Ireland (pictured at BBC Radio1 Big Weekend festival)
The Welsh literary festival, which runs until June 2, cut ties with investment management company Baillie Gifford ‘in light of claims from campaigners and intense pressure on artists to withdraw’.
Public figures including comedian Nish Kumar, singer Charlotte Church and Labor MP Dawn Butler all withdrew from the event.
A spokesperson for Baillie Gifford said the suggestion that it is a major investor in the occupied Palestinian territories is “seriously misleading”.
Julie Finch, CEO of Hay Festival Global, said in a statement that the charity’s first priority is “our audiences and our artists.”