Main Stage reckoning
Enter Shikari’s Gaza speech dominated the band’s charged Reading Festival 2025 set, turning Main Stage energy into protest. Frontman Rou Reynolds revisited 2010, when he wore a “Free Gaza” shirt on the same stage. He said his early learning about Palestinian oppression shaped the band’s voice, and yesterday he amplified it with stark statistics and moral clarity.
Festival politics
Reynolds described Israel’s treatment of Palestinians as systemic subjugation, echoing language used for years by activists and observers. He cited devastation in Gaza over the past two years, referencing destroyed schools and universities and hundreds of journalists killed. He called the situation “a war crime,” underlining the band’s stance that silence during atrocity equals complicity.
Context and claims
Since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack killed over 1,100 people and took hostages, global legal scrutiny intensified. UN human-rights experts and bodies have said Israel’s conduct may amount to genocide, with the International Court of Justice finding claims plausible. The Gaza Health Ministry reports at least 62,000 Palestinians killed. Israel rejects genocide accusations and says its actions are lawful self-defence. On August 22, a UN-backed IPC report confirmed famine in Gaza and described it as artificial, with aid groups alleging systematic obstruction.
Music as a megaphone
Reynolds urged compassion and action, reasserting solidarity across faiths while demanding open borders and unrestricted aid. He defended politics onstage, arguing that art must witness suffering, paraphrasing Rabbi Tarfon’s ethic of responsibility. The address connected Enter Shikari’s post-hardcore urgency to a long tradition of protest music, from punk stages to festival fields.
Broadcast Backlash
Fans complained the BBC iPlayer stream cut the set short, omitting the speech and uploading only a portion afterward. The frustration mirrors a recurring tension between live protest moments and broadcast curation at major festivals.
What is this woke nonsense from the @BBCR1 @BBCiPlayer not showing live bands for reading festival. Where is enter shikari. If limp bizkit isn’t shown tonight is crazy
— Itzrm93 (@robbiemclean) August 23, 2025
Did Enter Shikari really only play 6 songs at Reading Fest? #readingfestival
— Jack Miller (@jackryanmiller) August 23, 2025
As if they’re only showing half of the Enter Shikari Reading set smh 
They only played five songs from Enter Shikari on the livestream 
Enter Shikari Gaza Speech
This moment follows their February Wembley speech supporting Palestine and continued pressure on sponsors linked to artist boycotts. The band praised collective action after Barclays withdrew from Download, Latitude, and Isle of Wight sponsorships. Elsewhere at Reading, Hozier addressed Gaza, free speech, and self-determination, showing how festival culture remains a conduit for dissent.
Why it matters
Enter Shikari’s Gaza speech shows how festival headliners are reframing performance as civic intervention. In an era of livestreams and viral clips, stages double as platforms for accountability. Whether fans come for catharsis or critique, the message is clear: music can still raise the alarm, and the crowd decides how loudly it carries.
