Wembley backlash over Trump-focused Palestine fundraiser as state visit unfolds

Wembley Arena faced a sharp backlash after staging a star-studded fundraiser for Palestinians that coincided with the opening day of Donald Trump’s state visit to the United Kingdom.

The Together for Palestine concert at the OVO Arena featured actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Richard Gere, singer Paloma Faith and Blur frontman Damon Albarn, among others, and was billed as a charity event to raise money for groups assisting Palestinians affected by the Gaza conflict. The sold-out show, backed by a wide range of British TV, film and music figures—including Guy Pearce, Bastille and Louis Theroux—came after other venues reportedly declined to host the politically charged event. The timing drew particular attention as Trump’s visit unfolded nearby at Windsor Castle earlier in the day.

Former Roxy Music synth player Brian Eno, who helped assemble the lineup, said the event’s planning had faced obstacles from the outset, noting that merely mentioning Palestine could provoke refusals from potential venues. The lineup also included Abbas- and Gaza-focused voices, with Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, delivering remarks that drew a standing ovation from attendees. The show’s host, British comedian Guz Khan, has courted controversy in the past for political remarks and anti-Israel tweets, which have fed debate over his suitability for a high-profile broadcast event.

Richard Gere used the stage to address Western leaders, telling the crowd that “there’s one man who could stop this thing in one day” and describing Donald Trump as a crucial player in potential peace efforts. Gere’s remarks—with references to “enablers” of the Gaza crisis—were met with some boos from portions of the audience, illustrating the polarized response to the event at a moment when Trump’s presence in the U.K. was under intense scrutiny.

“Of course, Netanyahu has to go. All the enablers have to go, also,” Gere said, adding that Trump could “stop all this craziness” in a single day if he chose to do so. The comments underscored the contentious nature of a fundraiser anchored in a region already enduring heightened tensions and military conflict, and they highlighted the challenges of staging such performances in the context of a state visit.

The event drew vocal political reaction from London-area leaders, including Susan Hall, the Conservative group leader at City Hall, who told the Daily Mail that the concert amounted to an insult to President Trump. “They’re a damn disgrace. Whether you like Trump or not, he has been democratically elected by our neighbours the United States and we should be honoured he is here and wants to do trade deals,” Hall said. She characterized the timing as “an insult to Donald Trump” and said the spectacle reflected a broader frustration with what she called a partisan, left-leaning tact in British politics.

Alongside the music, performers and poets delivered remarks during the Wembley show, with sideshow commentary reinforcing the event’s political tone. Outside the venue, supporters waved large Palestine flags as attendees queued in, with many wearing apparel bearing the same symbolism. Organizers and participants described the concert as a humanitarian effort, with officials estimating the night raised well in excess of £500,000 for charity.

The event’s broader context included sharply divergent interpretations of the Gaza conflict. The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry has concluded that Israel had “flagrantly disregarded” international law and had “orchestrated a genocidal campaign” over a period of years, a finding Israel rejected as antisemitic and misleading in a separate statement. Campaign Against Antisemitism denounced the Wembley gathering as one-sided and accused speakers such as Mehdi Hasan and Albanese of promoting claims of genocide while omitting Hamas’s role and the ongoing hostage crisis. The advocacy group argued that such rhetoric risked normalizing antisemitism and undermining dialogue about the violence in Gaza.

The breadth of voices at the event reflected a spectrum of activism surrounding the Gaza conflict. Albanese, who has drawn heightened scrutiny from Western governments for her stance on the occupied Palestinian territories, received a notable reception, while other participants have previously faced controversy over their public commentary on Gaza and Israeli policy. The Guardian has reported that Eno and others involved in organizing the event described difficulty in securing a venue for a politically charged concert, highlighting the delicate balance between fundraising aims and the potential for diplomatic embarrassment during a state visit.

For organizers, the Wembley performance represented a high-profile effort to mobilize philanthropic resources in support of Palestinian causes amid a global dispute. For critics, it signaled a provocative alignment with a broader political campaign at a moment when Britain is outwardly courting an ally on the world stage, complicating how audiences interpret celebrity-led activism amid a high-stakes international visit.

The Daily Mail reported on the response from festival-goers and political observers alike, with participants arguing that the show offered a platform to highlight humanitarian suffering, while opponents contended it risked inflaming tensions and normalizing a politicized charity event in the shadow of a presidential visit. Legends Global, the promoter behind Wembley’s OVO Arena bookings, was approached for comment but had not issued a formal statement for publication.