Festival

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...