Pop musician CMAT is boycotting the Suffolk Latitude Festival in protest of Barclays Bank sponsorship.
At Brighton’s Great Escape Festival in May, approximately 100 musicians boycotted Barclays.
During the Palestine war, campaigners say the bank is investing more in Israeli military industries.
“I will not allow my precious work, my music, which I love so much, to get into bed with violence,” CMAT stated.
Barclays acknowledged “the profound human suffering” caused by the “complex and long-running conflict” in Gaza.
A spokeswoman said the bank provides financial services to firms “including those in the defence sector” but does not invest.
Companies “that supply defence products to Nato and other allies including Ukraine”
They noted that “Barclays does not directly invest in these companies” and that countries should make “decisions on the implementation of arms embargoes to other nations”.
CMAT, as Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, said she begged Latitude to find another sponsor.
“This has not happened and it has been made clear to me that it will not,” she posted on Instagram.
“As such, I am now officially pulling out.”
She expressed her regret to admirers who had purchased tickets solely to see her and expressed her aspiration to “make it up to you in some way.”
Georgia Ruth, a Welsh vocalist, has also declared that Barclays’ investment in the armaments trade “must be challenged” and withdrew from the festival.
She stated that Charlotte Church, who boycotted the Hay literary festival last week, served as an inspiration for her to adopt a stance.
The investment management firm Baillie Gifford is one of the principal sponsors of Hay, which is why Church, comedian Nish Kumar, economics author Grace Blakeley, and Labour MP Dawn Butler decided to cancel their speaking engagements.
Fossil Free Books, a campaign group, asserted that Baillie Gifford invests in a number of large fossil fuel companies, as well as corporations “linked to the Israeli military” and Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Baillie Gifford indicated that the “suggestion that Baillie Gifford is a large investor in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is seriously misleading” .
It is a significant investor in numerous multinational technology companies, including Amazon, NVIDIA, and Meta, which have “commercial dealings with the state of Israel that are negligible in the context of their overall business,” according to the statement.
It also stated that it is a “small” investor in “three companies that have been identified as having activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.” It also stated, “We are committed to responsibly analyzing and engaging with the companies in which we invest.” Progress has been achieved in this ongoing endeavor.
Hay’s organizers announced on Friday that they were terminating their sponsorship agreement with the organization, despite the fact that the festival had already commenced.
The decision was made “in light of claims raised by campaigners and intense pressure on artists to withdraw,” according to Chief Executive Julie Finch.
Ruth asserted in her statement that the “effective boycott” had demonstrated that artists “can make a difference” and encouraged Latitude to severe its relationship with Barclays.
Latitude has been contacted by the BBC in order to obtain a response.