Following a performance by rap duo Bob Vylan at the Glastonbury music festival, the BBC issued a formal apology for the broadcast of antisemitic sentiments. During their Saturday evening set, the duo led the crowd in chants of ‘death’ directed at Israel’s military. While their performance wasn't shown on the BBC's main channels, it was streamed live and in full on BBC iPlayer.
“The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence. The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves,” the BBC stated. The stream included an on-screen warning about "discriminatory language," a decision the BBC initially defended as aligning with their editorial guidelines.
However, the BBC acknowledged shortcomings in their response: “The judgment on Saturday to issue a warning on screen while streaming online was in line with our editorial guidelines. In addition, we took the decision not to make the performance available on demand. The team were dealing with a live situation but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance. We regret this did not happen.” The BBC has pledged to review its guidelines for handling similar situations in future live events to prevent similar incidents.