In his latest performance, the world’s most renowned street and performance artist released an inflatable life raft carrying dummy migrants during Idles’ performance at Glastonbury. The stunt took place during the band's headline set on the Other Stage, creating a striking visual as the raft bobbing across a sea of revellers as it made its way across the crowd.
Many attendees initially thought the inflatable boat was part of Idles' act, fitting seamlessly with the Bristol punk band's themes of immigration, critiques of rightwing politics, and calls for empathy for migrants. However, a representative for Idles revealed on Saturday that the artwork was Banksy’s creation and that the band had no prior knowledge of the stunt.
The inflatable life raft, representing the small boats used by migrants crossing the Channel, was seen crowd-surfing through the large audience gathered for Idles' Friday night performance. This imagery aligns with the high-profile debates surrounding Rishi Sunak’s and the UK Conservative party’s immigration policies famously the “Stop the Boats” campaign and the much derided Rwanda plan.
Banksy’s connection to Glastonbury is well-established. In 2019, he designed the Union flag-styled stab-proof vest worn by Stormzy during his headline performance on the Pyramid Stage. In 2014, he repurposed a livestock transportation van, filling it with cuddly toys that peeked out as it roamed the festival grounds. Additionally, the site has featured several of Banksy’s iconic stencil artworks, including a piece from 2010 that resurfaced in 2022 for the festival’s 50th anniversary. Furthermore, Banksy has previously shown his humanitarian nature and empathy towards the global migrant crisis through the funding of a rescue vessel in 2020 named Louise Michel after a French feminist anarchist,
Painted in bright pink and featuring the girl from Girl with Balloon holding a heart-shaped safety buoy, the 31-metre motor yacht, formerly owned by French customs authorities, is smaller but considerably faster than other NGO rescue vessels and has participated in multiple successful rescues.
In response to the latest headlining grabbing performance by Banksy, and completely missing the point, underfire home secretary, James Cleverly labelled the important stunt as "vile" and "not funny".
Migration is a prominent theme at this year's Glastonbury Festival, with the introduction of a new area called Terminal 1, which replaces the former William’s Green stage. Attendees must answer a question from the UK government’s citizenship test to enter Terminal 1. Inside, they are treated to music from representatives of Notting Hill Carnival and Bristol’s St Paul’s Carnival, alongside visual art by international artists such as Love Watts, Yoshi Sodeoka, and Turner Prize winner Mark Wallinger.
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