Festival

Nobel laureate says he previously considered himself a supporter of Israel, but ‘the campaign of annihilation in Gaza has changed all that’Nobel laureate JM Coetzee has declined to attend an upcoming literature festival in Israel, writing a excoriating letter to organisers citing the country’s “genocidal campaign” in Gaza, stating: “It will take many years for Israel to clear its name”.The 86-year-old author, who was born in apartheid South Africa and lives in Australia, wrote to organisers of the Jerusalem international writers festival in November. Continue reading...

Interim report contains 14 recommendations, after inquiry examined agencies’ actions before the attack in which 15 people were killedFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSydney’s Jewish community told police of a “high” threat of an attack at December’s Chanukah by the Sea festival at Bondi beach, but NSW police appeared not to have completed a comprehensive risk assessment for the event, an interim royal commission report has found.The interim report of the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion, established in the wake of December’s terror attack, found no gap in current laws that could have prevented the shooting. But it did call for greater better coordination of policing at Jewish festivals and events. Continue reading...

Briefings obtained by freedom of information warned a ‘cascade of withdrawals’ could lead to collapse of 2026 South Australian festivalGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAdelaide writers’ week was sacrificed to save the 2026 Adelaide festival, an event that ploughs more than $60m into South Australia’s economy each year, documents show.After the 8 January announcement by the Adelaide festival board that controversial Palestinian Australian academic Randa Abdel-Fattah had been dumped from the AWW program, it wasn’t just fellow Australian and international guest writers and academics who began pulling out in droves. Continue reading...

Man from North Carolina arrested at Florida hotel with a handgun and about 200 rounds of ammo, authorities saySign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxAuthorities say a man suspected of planning a mass shooting at a large New Orleans festival was arrested at a Florida hotel with a handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.The event was not named, but the New Orleans jazz and heritage festival, commonly known as JazzFest, runs from Thursday through 3 May. The gathering celebrates Louisiana’s music, food and culture, and attracted about 460,000 people last year, organizers said. Continue reading...

Industry experts say booking of controversial US rapper was calculated risk that has implications for all festivalsThe fallout over Wireless announcing Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) as its 2026 headliner was both swift and considerable.Last Sunday, major sponsors of the three-day festival, including Pepsi and Diageo, began to withdraw their involvement in the face of a significant backlash to Ye’s shocking pronouncements on the Jewish community and the Holocaust. UK Jewish groups threatened to protest if the shows went ahead. Keir Starmer called the decision to book the rapper who wrote a song titled Heil Hitler “deeply concerning”. Continue reading...

The 79th edition of the film festival will see work by Pedro Almodóvar, Hirokazu Kore-eda and László Nemes considered for the coveted Palme d’OrGillian Anderson, Rami Malek, Cara Delevingne and John Travolta are expected to walk the red carpet at Cannes this year, as the world’s most influential film festival unveiled an auteur-heavy lineup for its 79th edition.Competing for the coveted Palme d’Or will be new films by heavyweights Pedro Almodóvar, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Paweł Pawlikowski, László Nemes and Asghar Farhadi. Continue reading...

London festival will feature an intimate Styles performance as well as appearances from Warpaint, Kamasi Washington, Devonté Hynes and moreHarry Styles has announced the lineup of artists he has curated for this year’s Meltdown festival, held at London’s Southbank Centre.As well as performing a solo concert on 16 June at Royal Festival Hall, sandwiched amid his run of 12 dates at the considerably larger Wembley Stadium, Styles has brought together a diverse range of artists spanning jazz, pop, indie rock and electronic music. Continue reading...

Performer is being extended ‘forgiveness’ over antisemitic remarks, says managing director of festival’s promoter Kanye West is still due to perform at the Wireless festival, one of its organisers has said, despite calls to cancel his appearance.The musician, legally known as Ye, has been criticised for making antisemitic remarks including voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler. Last year he released a song called Heil Hitler, a few months after advertising a swastika T-shirt for sale on his website. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer ‘is not a bystander’, says Campaign Against Antisemitism as it calls on him to stop rapper entering UKKanye West should be banned from entering the UK to perform at Wireless festival, the Campaign Against Antisemitism has urged.The Jewish charity is the latest voice to join calls for the rapper’s performance to be cancelled following his antisemitic remarks and raises doubts about whether the music festival, due to take place in London’s Finsbury Park in July, will go ahead. Continue reading...

PM says antisemitism is ‘abhorrent’ after booking of West, who has song called Heil Hitler and last year advertised swastika T-shirtKeir Starmer has said it is “deeply concerning” that Kanye West, the US rapper who has made a series of antisemitic comments, is to appear at a British music festival.The prime minister joins others who have criticised Wireless festival for booking the musician, also known as Ye, to headline all three nights of the forthcoming event in London. Continue reading...

Headlining set for Netflix Is a Joke festival marks first outing with major streamer since misconduct allegations in 2017Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxNetflix is welcoming Louis CK back into its fold.The comedian, long subject to questions regarding rehabilitation and so-called “cancel culture”, will headline a show at the Hollywood Bowl next month as part of the streamer’s Netflix Is a Joke festival – his first major outing with a streamer since allegations of sexual misconduct at the height of the #MeToo movement. Later this summer, Netflix will also premiere CK’s new special, Ridiculous, which he directed and executive-produced. Continue reading...

Fertiliser created from waste produced in block of toilets used by 700 revellers at Boomtown festival last yearScientists are aiming to grow 4,500 trees at a national park with the help of fertiliser made from urine collected from festivalgoers.The fertiliser was created by Bristol-based startup NPK Recovery, which connected their unit to a block of toilets used by 700 revellers at Boomtown festival in Hampshire in July last year. Continue reading...

Regular events at the Tasmanian festival, including the Winter Solstice Nude Swim and the Night Mass party, joined by Australian and international musicians and artists in a program dominated by Latin American art Get our weekend culture and lifestyle emailA hallucinatory experimental film starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Rampling that can only be watched by one person at a time is heading to Australia as part of Tasmania’s 2026 Dark Mofo festival.It’s estimated that only 500 people in the world have seen French artist Loris Gréaud’s film Sculpt since its premiere at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2016 – though the exact figure is hard to know, since he later supplied the files to hackers to distribute over the dark web.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...

The 2024 festival was cancelled after multiple authors pulled out over the non-profit’s stance on the Israel-Gaza warThe literary free speech organization PEN America has announced plans for their 2026 World Voices festival. The four day event will take place in New York and Los Angeles from 29 April to 2 May and feature writers from over 140 countries, with in person appearances from authors including Judith Butler, Bill McKibben, Cory Doctorow, Megha Majumdar and Katie Kitamura.In a press release, the event is billed as a “testament to literature’s ability to unite us, and to counteract the closed mindedness that has resulted in a nationalist maelstrom. It continues to affirm PEN America’s commitment to championing writers and their work.” Continue reading...