Solidarity across festivals, and the power of collective action

In late October of 2023, Ravers for Palestine (@raversforpalestine on Instagram) posted an open letter signed by hundreds of industry professionals calling on London's electronic music scene to stand in solidarity with Palestine. The post read: "We urgently call on London's electronic music parties and spaces, as well as our fellow ravers and artists, to publicly declare their solidarity with the Palestinian people in the face of the brutal violence they are currently experiencing in Gaza." 

The letter broadly called for its readers to use their platforms to condemn the genocide in Gaza. Ravers for Palestine quickly escalated their participation in community action; by February of the following year, they had launched a strike fund to support artists boycotting venues with links to Israel. Nearly 18 months after publishing their open letter, Ravers for Palestine has escalated its targeted action to support boycott movements. In coalition with Queers for Palestine, the group initiated a structured campaign to help artists across the UK boycott complicit spaces and events. This tried and tested model has already seen progress. Sharing information and resources to help workers claim their collective power has resulted in multiple acts pulling out of sets at Mighty Hoopla, Lost Village and Boiler Room. 

Last March, Ravers for Palestine called for a boycott of about:blank, Berghain, E1, HÖR and Sweat Festival. The collective wrote that these targets were chosen because they have "silenced artists for solidarity with Palestine, or are otherwise materially implicated in the genocide." The slides that followed illuminate just how pervasive imperialism is in our daily lives. The things we consume, from drinks to entertainment, have a knock-on effect that normalises and accelerates multiple ongoing genocides and occupations. 

Illustration: Magda Michalak.

Many informed boycotters follow BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) guidelines (also applied in a handy app called Boycat), which designate corporations directly contributing to the genocide in Palestine and to the illegal seizure of Palestinian land as boycott and pressure targets. Other boycotts arise organically out of calls from Palestinians and workers. Regardless of its origin, a well-executed boycott can make a massive difference.

In May of last year, Bands Boycott Barclays relayed a call from PACBI (Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel) to boycott The Great Escape, a festival funded by Barclays, a BDS boycott target. When the call was posted, 46 acts had already pulled out of the festival. Less than two weeks later, that number grew to over 100, then over a third of all scheduled acts. BDS called it the "biggest cultural boycott campaign of its kind, ever." It was a landmark moment for organisers and artists, demonstrating not only that industry-wide solidarity is possible, but that it is a moral imperative. In response, The Great Escape no longer partners with Barclays, with other festivals like Download following suit for 2025.

Recently, Ravers for Palestine named several pressure targets: Boiler Room and the festivals Field Day, Mighty Hoopla, Sónar and Flow. These festivals are reportedly owned by Superstruct, which was recently acquired by Israel-linked KKR Investments. In their statement, Ravers for Palestine wrote: "These festivals are important to many community members. We suggest dialogue and outreach before taking further steps. Boycotts work best when they are narrow, targeted and a last resort." Since that statement, Boiler Room has endorsed PACBI, distancing themselves from Superstruct. Boiler Room writes that, "No Boiler Room staff at any level held any ownership or voting rights in the company and had no control over the sale. We are also unable to divest because we have no say in our ownership." The post doesn't give any details about staff action or organising, but hopefully this statement is not the end of Boiler Room's engagement with the issue. 

With the 'ceasefire' decisively ended and the situation in Gaza and the West Bank becoming more desperate every day, the organised, steadfast commitment of the Palestinian resistance teaches us how to stand by each other. The grief of waking up to more news every day sometimes feels too heavy to bear, but mass action is a reminder that these burdens are meant to be shared. Following the success of these initiatives over the past 18 months, the resounding message is that it will take all of us; we can do it; and we will.

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Follow the important work Ravers for Palestine are doing via Instagram @raversforpalestine