CMAT pulled out of Latitude Festival due to its ties to Israel.
The Irish singer, 28, was due to perform at the Suffolk-based event in July but revealed she would no longer attend because the title sponsor is Barclays, which has been accused of funding Israel’s attacks on Palestine.
Europe’s largest Palestinian rights organisation, the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC), has called on people to boycott Barclays and the bank’s branch has been the subject of protests in recent weeks.
In a lengthy Instagram post on Thursday, CMAT (whose real name is Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson) revealed that it had asked Latitude to reconsider its choice of sponsor and warned that it would not act if they refused to cut ties with the bank.
Stating that she was “completely devastated” by the decision, she shared her hopes of performing 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 pulled out of Latitude Festival over her ties to Israel, telling her fans she was “completely devastated” by the decision in a lengthy Instagram post on Thursday.
The Irish singer, 28, was due to perform at the Suffolk-based event in July but will no longer attend because the main sponsor is Barclays, which has been accused of funding Israel’s attacks on Palestine (pictured on Sunday in BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend). )
Along with photos of her before her first concert at Latitude, CMAT shared: ’Hello everyone, I am very sorry to announce that I will officially be retiring from playing the main stage at the Latitude 2024 festival.
You may or may not know it, but Latitude’s main sponsor is Barclay Bank, which has been revealed to have increased funding for several companies that supply weapons and military technology to Israel.
‘Specifically, it has invested more than £100 million in General Dynamics, which provides weapons systems to the fighter jets Israel uses to bomb Gaza.
“I informed Latitude what my decision would be weeks ago, but I hoped that with all the press surrounding the brave artists who pulled out of The Great Escape festival for the same reasons, Latitude would get rid of Barclays or find another sponsor.
‘This has not happened and they have made it clear to me that it will not happen. As such, I am now officially retiring.
‘I will not allow my precious work, my music, which I love so much, to be violently put to bed. I and the entire CMAT tour team whom 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 spots at a big festival in 2021 and playing the Sunrise Arena is one of my fondest memories.
‘(The image used here is me on my way to the stage. I was so excited! It was the first time I met so many people who believed in me and I had been looking forward to the moment when it would close the circle that this space would have given me. provided. Me, the band and my fans.
In a lengthy Instagram post on Thursday, CMAT (whose real name is Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson) revealed that she had asked Latitude to reconsider its choice of sponsor.
CMAT also shared photos of her attending a pro-Palestine rally and called on her followers to “show solidarity” with the people of Palestine by also boycotting Barclays.
CMAT continued: ‘I really hope to play this festival again in the future under different circumstances and with a different sponsor.
‘I also want to say that I am very sorry to disappoint anyone who came to see us at Latitude. I really hope I can make it up to you in some way and I hope you can understand my decision not to play.
“I toyed with the idea of playing and donating our fees, but honestly, that’s not what the BDS movement asks me to do, and I could never claim to know more than them.
‘Let me be clear. A genocide is happening in Palestine right now. All I can do as a citizen is attend as many protests as possible and try to follow the advice on the BDS boycott list as closely as possible. This falls within that action.
‘I hope that as many of you reading this as possible choose to show your solidarity with the Palestinian people in any way you can.
‘Boycott Barclays. Free Palestine. Much love, CMAT XXX (sic).’
Europe’s largest Palestinian rights organization, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), had called on people to boycott Barclays.
“Barclays Bank owns more than £1 billion in shares and provides more than £3 billion in loans and guarantees to nine companies whose weapons, components and military technology are being used by Israel in its attacks against the Palestinians,” the bank said. group at that 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 vital financial services to US, UK and European public companies that supply defense products to NATO and its allies.”
“Barclays does not invest directly in these companies. The defense sector is critical to our national security and the UK government has been clear that supporting defense companies is compatible with ESG considerations.”
“Decisions on the implementation of arms embargoes on other nations are the task of the respective elected governments.”
MailOnline has contacted Latitude Festival for comment.
Earlier this year, CMAT turned heads when she attended the BRIT Awards in a daring dress after being nominated for International Artist of the Year.
CMAT was born in Dublin and moved to Manchester in his teens to launch his music career, before returning to his native Ireland, where he now resides.
Her debut studio album, If My Wife New I’d Be Dead, was released in February 2022 and reached number one in Ireland and won the RTÉ Choice Music Prize last year.
The singer, who is bisexual, is also an avid supporter of LGBTQ rights.
Earlier this year, CMAT turned heads 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 made headlines with her dress, which featured a rounded back that showed off her butt.
She addressed the backlash on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, saying she made sure “the amount of butt crack that was shown was the same as the average amount of cleavage” that was normally shown and adding that her outfit It was no different from other styles.
CMAT stated: ‘I think mine caused a stir because it’s large and because I’m a size 14 instead of a size six, which is what you commonly see on TV, especially when it comes to musicians and pop stars.
“There were a lot of people who were really angry that I would do such a thing. They were horrified and people were really angry and aggressive in the comments, telling me I had to go to the gym. The reaction was crazy.”
Speaking to 6 Music, he added: “A lot of people in the comments say, ‘She’s attention seeking!’ She seeks attention!’ So? Yes, that’s my job!’
CMAT’s decision comes after Hay Festival ‘caved’ 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 number one in Ireland (pictured at BBC Radio1 Big Weekend festival)
The Welsh literary festival, which runs until June 2, cut ties with investment management firm Baillie Gifford “in light of claims raised by campaigners and intense pressure on artists to withdraw” .
Prominent figures such as comedian Nish Kumar, singer Charlotte Church and Labor MP Dawn Butler walked out of the event.
A spokesman for Baillie Gifford said the suggestion that it is a major investor in the occupied Palestinian territories is “grossly misleading”.
Julie Finch, chief executive of Hay Festival Global, said in a statement that the charity’s first priority is “our audience and our artists”.