Hozier and Wembley Arena respond after fan was told to remove ‘Free Palestine’ scarf

26 February, 2024

Hozier

Hozier and Wembley Arena have responded after a fan was told to remove their ‘Free Palestine’ scarf upon entry at the venue last year.

In December 2023, a concert attendee named Hiba Ahmad recounted their experience on X/Twitter of being “pulled aside and escorted to wardrobe” for wearing a scarf in solidarity with Palestine at the concert.

The Irish artist performed at the OVO Arena Wembley on December 15 as part of his 2023 UK and Ireland tour.

The fan wrote that they wear the ‘Free Palestine’ scarf “everywhere as a show of solidarity” and “because it is fucking cold”.

“They then proceeded to tell me they are taking my scarf for my own protection as I might get ‘hate crimed’ for wearing it,” the social media thread stated.

The attendee added that staff said they would not confiscate their pride key chain, because they are “not political”.

“On the way in I saw people being let in with all sorts of political slogans – especially one memorable tote bag about animal cruelty and testing,” the posts added. “But hey, animals > Palestinians right?”

Venue staff were also reportedly concerned that the fan would “launch the scarf at the stage”, but a picture revealed Hiba’s seat was in the stands, far away from the stage.

In a series of videos, Hiba appeared to be escorted to wardrobe by a member of staff reportedly wearing a bodycam.

Hozier responded via X one day later (December 16), insisting that they were looking into the incident and could “state categorically that no request came from me about this, and my tour gave no directive about refusing entry of certain items of clothing or indeed flags”.

On December 23, Hiba shared a new update: “I had a lovely chat with the general manager of @OVOArena who assured me I didn’t break any policies with my scarf & that the staff acted.. on the orders of Hozier’s tour manager who had insisted on removing any and all references to Palestine in the arena.

“I will be receiving a public apology in the new year, the staff will continue receiving training on this issue, they will make their stance on political statements clear on their website, and they have also promised to donate money to humanitarian relief in Gaza.”

In a new update shared by Wembley Arena last week (February 22) via their official X account, a statement read: “This was an isolated incident where venue policy wasn’t followed as intended. The decision to stop the guest was not following artist wishes. We have apologised to those involved and are making a donation to the UNICEF Children In Gaza Appeal.”

Today (Feburary 26), Hozier subsequently thanked the venue for “clearing up this misunderstanding”, adding: “The team and I have zero policy of prohibiting signs of any kind and I’m sorry to Hiba and her friends that they experienced this at the London show.”

Hiba replied to the singer-songwriter (real name Andrew John Hozier-Byrne): “Thank you so much Andrew, I really appreciate you reaching out directly, shows the person and artist you are. Solidarity.”

In October, Hozier urged his fans to demand that US politicians call for a ceasefire.

A number of other artists have shown their solidarity with Palestine amidst the ongoing conflict with Israel in recent months, including Enter Shikari, Idles and Kneecap.

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