Singapore probes British band after Palestinian flag displayed at concert

Singapore police are investigating British trip-hop band Massive Attack after members displayed a Palestinian flag on stage during a concert, in what authorities said may have violated the terms of the event’s license, Reuters reported on Friday.

Police and Singapore’s media regulator said reports had been filed after two members of the Bristol-based band raised the Palestinian flag during Wednesday night’s performance as audience members cheered.

Singapore generally prohibits the public display of foreign national emblems without a permit or official exemption. Authorities have taken a particularly cautious approach to displays related to the Israel-Hamas war, citing concerns over maintaining religious and ethnic harmony.

In 2023, Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs urged the public not to display symbols associated with the conflict, warning that “the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict is an emotive issue.

“The peace and harmony between different races and religions in Singapore should not be taken for granted, and we must not let events happening externally affect this peace and harmony we have in Singapore,” the ministry said in the statement quoted by Reuters.

Singapore is a multiethnic and multireligious society, with ethnic Chinese comprising about three-quarters of the resident population and Muslims accounting for approximately 15%.

Massive Attack, formed in Bristol in 1988, has long been known for incorporating political messaging into its performances. Reuters reported that videos shown during Wednesday’s concert criticized the U.S. technology company Palantir and highlighted conflicts including the war in Gaza, the U.S.-Iran conflict, Sudan and Ukraine.

Neither the band’s representatives nor the concert organizer immediately responded to Reuters’ requests for comment.

Massive Attack played three shows in Israel, but has boycotted it since 1999 to pressure it to end its “occupation of Palestine.”

Massive Attack supports the campaign to free Fatah-Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti, imprisoned in Israel for five murders and one attempted murder.

Singapore has maintained diplomatic relations with Israel since 1969 while also supporting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Its government has repeatedly stressed that overseas conflicts should not be allowed to inflame communal tensions within the country.

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