BBC faulted by watchdog over Glastonbury livestream as ECU finds harm and offence in Bob Vylan anti-Israel chants

The BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit has ruled that the Glastonbury livestream broadcast breached the corporation’s editorial standards on harm and offence because of anti-Israel chants by Bob Vylan during their primetime set at the festival in Somerset.

The ruling was issued after four complaints alleged that the performance contained material likely to incite violence, terrorism or ethnic cleansing, hate speech and anti-Semitism. The ECU found that the chants — including calls of “death” to the Israel Defence Forces and lines such as “from the river to the sea” and “free, free Palestine” — were the most problematic elements of the act. It also noted remarks directed at a record-company boss described in “the most abusive terms” and references to “Zionists” as contributing to a broader pattern that the ECU deemed anti-Semitic when viewed in the round.

The ECU said that while slogans like “From the river to the sea” and “Free Palestine” can be read as expressions of a political aspiration rather than a call for violence, the chant “Death, death to the IDF” is more problematic because it targets an institution rather than a group of people. The panel clarified that the inference of incitement is contextual in a music-festival setting; however, taken together with other language used during the performance, the content met the threshold for a breach of harm and offence guidelines. The ECU also concluded that the comments about the record boss amounted to anti-Semitic content in the context of the act.

The BBC was cleared, however, of breaching guidelines on material likely to incite crime and on impartiality. The ECU noted that although there is broad disagreement with the band’s political views, there was not a finding that the performance as a whole amounted to a breach of impartiality standards for the BBC’s coverage of events.

Following the ruling, the BBC apologized to viewers—especially the Jewish community—and said it would take steps to ensure accountability. The broadcaster also reiterated that it respects freedom of expression but “stands firmly against incitement to violence,” and acknowledged that it should have cut the feed earlier during the performance. In addition, the BBC said it would not make the clip available on demand and that it had issued a live-stream warning during the broadcast.

The ruling comes amid a broader fallout. After the Glastonbury set, Bob Vylan’s frontman Pascal Robinson-Foster posted on social media denying that the group celebrated Charlie Kirk’s death, but the controversy continued to unfold as the band’s next show in Tilburg was canceled. The venue cited a decision that the statements had “gone too far” and noted that the performers had publicly characterized their chant as criticism of the Israeli army rather than an antisemitic slogan. The Embassy of Israel in the UK condemned the rhetoric as inflammatory and urged leaders and artists to denounce hatred.

The episode prompted a sequence of political and regulatory responses. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the government would review what happened and welcomed the BBC’s acknowledgment that the live stream should have been pulled. A Downing Street spokesman likewise condemned the comments and called for an explanation of how the comments were broadcast. Ofcom said it was very concerned about the live stream and that the broadcaster must answer questions about the procedures in place to ensure compliance with its own guidelines.

In the immediate aftermath, a BBC spokesperson noted that the Glastonbury coverage, including the West Holts stage stream, was subject to on-screen warnings about strong language and that the decision not to offer on-demand viewing was taken in light of the incident. The broadcaster also indicated that it would review its policies governing live-event coverage to prevent a recurrence.

Meanwhile, BBC music chief Lorna Clarke was reported to have stepped back from day-to-day duties while the investigation evaluated why the feed was not cut in real time. The Times reported she and a small cohort of senior staff paused their usual duties as part of the review, underscoring executive-level scrutiny of live programming decisions.

As this period of scrutiny continues, observers and officials said the incident highlights the challenges of balancing freedom of expression with public-audience standards on live platforms. The BBC has said it will provide further updates on the review of its live-event guidelines and the steps it will take to ensure more stringent oversight of on-air content during major events in the future.