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yesterday

Massive Attack Barred From Singapore After Onstage Palestinian Flag and Crowd Chants

Singapore says the decision enforces its ban on public displays of foreign emblems to protect racial and religious harmony.

Robert Del Naja and Grant Marshall from Massive Attack stand with a Palestinian flag onstage at the end of their performance in Singapore, July 29, 2026, in this screengrab from video obtained from social media. Two members of Massive Attack were issued with stern warnings and barred from re-entering Singapore after the British band ended their performance on Wednesday with a display of the Palestinian flag, police said. Simran Panaech/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. THIS PICTURE WAS CROPPED BY REUTERS TO ENHANCE QUALITY. AN UNCROPPED VERSION HAS BEEN PROVIDED SEPARATELY. VERIFICATION: - Reuters verified the location and the date when the video was taken from the original file metadata. - The official website of the Star Theatre in Singapore confirms that the Massive Attack concert occurred on July 29. - The identities of the band members seen in the video were verified as Robert Del Naja and Grant Marshall from Massive Attack by comparing their facial features to archive imagery.
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Overview

  • The band held a Palestinian flag onstage and joined audience chants of “Free Palestine” during a concert on July 29 at the Star Theatre in Singapore.
  • After an investigation, the Singapore Police Force and the Infocomm Media Development Authority issued stern warnings to two band members and barred those members from re‑entering the country while signaling future performance applications would be refused.
  • Massive Attack published a public statement saying the entire touring party was detained, questioned separately, some hotel rooms were searched, and some passports were temporarily confiscated.
  • Singapore points to laws that ban public display of foreign national emblems without a permit and says its response was necessary to protect social cohesion in a multiracial, multi‑religious state.
  • The incident follows Massive Attack’s long record of pro‑Palestine activism and raises questions about how governments may use immigration and licensing rules to police political expression at concerts and other public events.