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Kneecap’s forthcoming performance in Hungary will not go ahead as the Irish band has been banned from the country for three years for posing “a national security threat.”

Hungarian politician and spokesperson Zoltán Kovács announced the ban on social media on Thursday, saying Kneecap are “officially banned from entering Hungary—for antisemitism and glorifying terror.”

@KneecapCEOL are officially banned from entering Hungary—for antisemitism and glorifying terror. When hate ignores the mail, we put it on a wall.

This is what we call "service by public notice." In plain...

Kneecap have been banned from entering Hungary for three years — just two weeks before they were set to play Budapest’s Sziget Festival. Authorities argue that the Northern Irish rap trio’s scheduled performance “posed a national security threat.”

“[Kneecap]’s members repeatedly engage in antisemitic hate speech supporting terrorism and terrorist groups,” government spokesman Zoltán Kovács wrote on X/Twitter. “Hungary has zero tolerance for antisemitism in any form.”

Kovács added, “The government insists that festival organizers must ensure compliance with Hungarian law and morally sound programming. The real issue: this isn’t just protest — it’s support for terror, celebration of extremist violence and a clear anti‑Semitic statement.”

In a statement of their own, Kneecap pointed out the hypocrisy of welcoming “wanted war criminal” Benjamin Netanyahu “like a hero” just weeks earlier. “The authoritarian government of Viktor Orban say we ‘pose a national security threat,'” they wrote.