BBC says they will no longer broadcast “high risk” live music performaces following Bob Vylan's Glastonbury set

The BBC has announced it will no longer livestream or broadcast live music performances it deems "high risk," following backlash over Bob Vylan’s set at Glastonbury 2025.

The British punk duo's chants “Death to the IDF” were aired as part of the BBC's live coverage.

In a statement, the BBC apologised to the Jewish community and said “clear errors” were made in both the risk assessment and the real-time monitoring of Bob Vylan’s performance.

"This was unquestionably an error of judgement," said the BBC Chair, Samir Shah.

While the band had been flagged as “high risk" ahead of the festival along with seven other acts, the broadcaster said it had approved the set for livestream with content and language warnings in place.

Despite this, the BBC acknowledged that “a number of issues” were flagged during the Bob Vylan live set and that on-screen warnings were issued twice during the performance. However, the decision not to cut the livestream feed was described by the broadcaster as an “error.”

“The live feed, which was showing subsequent performances from other acts on the same Glastonbury stage, remained up until it was amended shortly after 8 pm while teams worked on a technical solution,” the BBC said.

Glastonbury organisers criticised the Bob Vylan performance, saying it “crossed a line” and labelled the chant as antisemitic.

Going forward, the BBC says it will provide “more detailed, practical guidance on the threshold for withdrawing a livestream” and will have Editorial Policy support available on site at major music festivals and events.