The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts has crumbled under the weight of boycott pressure, pulling the plug on its longstanding sponsorship deal with a company over its investments in fossil fuels and Israel. The Mailhas the story.
The literary festival in Wales, which is taking place until June 2nd, cut ties with investment management firm Baillie Gifford “in light of claims raised by campaigners and intense pressure on artists to withdraw”.
Noted figures including comedian Nish Kumar, singer Charlotte Church and Labour MP Dawn Butler have all pulled out of the event.
It comes after the campaign group Fossil Free Books called upon festival sponsor, Baillie Gifford, to “divest from the fossil fuel industry”.
It claimed in a statement that the company “currently has between £2.5-5 billion invested in the fossil fuel industry and nearly £10 billion invested in companies with direct or indirect links to Israel’s defence, tech and cybersecurity industries”. …
Julie Finch, Chief Executive of Hay Festival Global, said in a statement that the charity’s first priority is “our audience and our artists”.
Stand-up comic Kumar, 38, announced his withdrawal when he posted a statement from campaign leaders, Fossil Free Books, on X, and said dropping out “was the right decision for me”.
Sad to say that I will be pulling out of Hay to support this campaign. Love the festival and the people that work in it, but this was the right decision for me. https://t.co/cXO6InzPJi
In another statement to social media, Church, 38, who is a pro-Palestinian campaigner, said she was boycotting and not attending the festival “in protest of the artwashing and greenwashing that is apparent in this sponsorship”. …
I’m scheduled in to talk at the Hay Festival with the brilliant Mary Loudon this weekend.
However, due to the continuing sponsorship of the festival by asset manager Baillie Gifford, I will be boycotting and not attending
— Charlotte Church (@charlottechurch) May 23, 2024
A spokesperson for Baillie Gifford said: “The suggestion that Baillie Gifford is a large investor in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is seriously misleading.” …
The statement said the companies the firm has invested in, which have commercial dealings with the state of Israel, have not violated any laws in doing business with the country.
The statement continued: “We are not a significant fossil fuel investor. Only 2% of our clients’ money is invested in companies with some business related to fossil fuels.”
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