Banksy revealed to be behind inflatable migrant boat artwork stunt during Idles’ Glastonbury set
Banksy sure knows how to make a statement during a Glastonbury set, doesn't he?
The street artist and political activist has still been hard at work on Worthy Farm despite all the fun going on around him, as it has been revealed that he is behind a certain stunt which took place while Idles' were headlining the Other Stage on Friday (28 June).
It seems Banksy might have been working behind the scenes with the Bristol punk band on creating a very politically charged performance together, as they used both art and music to air their grievances to the world.
The Idles kicked it off by getting the crowd to chant 'f*** the king', before vocalist Joe Talbot went on to belt out their hit track 'Danny Nedelko', which he dubbed an 'anti-Farage song'.
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As the song was playing, a small blow-up boat - which had dummies sporting life jackets in it to represent migrants - suddenly started surfing the crowd.
The stunt coincided with lyrics which reference immigration issues in the UK.
Talbot sang: "My blood brother is an immigrant, a beautiful immigrant. My blood brother’s Freddie Mercury, a Nigerian mother of three. He’s made of bones, he’s made of blood. He’s made of flesh, he’s made of love.
"He’s made of you, he’s made of me. Unity. Fear leads to panic, panic leads to pain. Pain leads to anger, anger leads to hate."
This all went out live on the BBC by the way - but these snippets have reportedly been cut from coverage on the festival on iPlayer, although a lot of Brits watched the gig at home in real-time on Friday night.
Festivalgoers initially presumed the life raft prop was organised by the band, however, a representative for the Idles has since announced that they had no idea about it until after they came off stage.
The spokesperson confirmed that the boat was actually created by Banksy, according to The Guardian.
The poignant art piece has been praised as 'beautiful and impactful' online, while others were left kicking themselves that they didn't clock it was a Banksy a mile off.
The underground artist has found a way to put his stamp on Glastonbury for the last several years, such as designing Stormzy's stab-proof vest featuring the Union flag during his headline set on the Pyramid stage in 2019.
Banksy also organised a stunt where cuddly toys were stuffed inside a livestock transportation van that drove around the huge site in Somerset.
Social media users were also speculating that the unknown spray painter might have also been behind a repurposed airport installation at this year's Glastonbury which champions migration.
One said: "Just popping onto Twitter to speculate that this new venue is a Banksy. As an yet unannounced Banksy, it sure as hell feels like a Banksy."
The yellow steel and glass contraption is named 'Terminal 1', in reference to the now disused Terminal 1 at Heathrow.
Posters emblazoned with the words 'no human is illegal' are dotted around, while the small print on them states that 'to gain entry all British citizens must successfully answer a question from the UKGOV citizenship test'.
Terminal 1 is made from 're-purposed’ airport materials and is kitted out with seats for passengers to wait, trolleys to carry luggage, and a departures board.
However, Banksy has not yet laid claim to this one.
Olivia Burke