The band was set to perform at the major Sziget Festival in Budapest on Aug. 11.
“This isn’t just protest — it’s support for terror, celebration of extremist violence and a clear anti‑Semitic statement,” Zoltán Kovács, the Hungarian government’s spokesperson, wrote on X. “Granting them a stage normalizes hate and terror, and puts democratic values on the line.”
Sziget organizers said in a statement that the ban was “unnecessary and regrettable,” as the performance, they said, would not constitute hate speech or contravene Hungarian law.
Representatives for Kneecap did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The band’s recent performances have caused controversy, as U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for the Glastonbury festival to drop their performance.
Hungary is one of Israel’s staunchest allies in the EU, and the Israeli ambassador to Budapest applauded the travel ban.
