The O2 arena has apologised after two women who separately attended a Lorde concert on Sunday night had their FC Palestina football shirts confiscated by staff who alleged they contravened venue policy.
Francesca Humi, 30, and Chloe Grace Laws, also 30, were each stopped by venue security and told they would have to remove their shirts – which bore the word “Palestine” – or be ejected. Staff members claimed it was against policy to wear garments bearing the names, flags or emblems of individual countries, and that it could cause offence to other gig-goers.
Humi said that she saw a man wearing an Irish Gaelic football jersey, which was not confiscated. She was led to the confiscated items desk, while Laws was asked to put her shirt in the cloakroom at a cost of £5. Laws said she was escorted to the cloakroom by a young security guard who was sympathetic to her situation, and told her that at a gig by the US trio Haim – who are Jewish – on 28 October, Israeli flags had been banned.
A spokesperson for the venue told the Guardian that the O2 does not have a policy that prohibits “any specific items of clothing, including those that display or highlight social causes, religion, political or nationality”, with occasional exceptions for sports team clothing at certain events as a risk-control measure. While event organisers may impose additional restrictions at their discretion, they said, Lorde’s two concerts at the venue this month were not subject to any such measures.
The New Zealand pop star, 29, has previously spoken in support of Palestine, and at one point each night in her show, the stage lights flash red, white and green, the colours of the Palestinian flag. At previous concerts, she has shouted “Free Palestine”. She has spoken of her emotion at seeing her 2013 song Team covered by the Palestinian-Canadian singer Nemah Hasan, and is one of a number of artists to have removed their music from streaming services in Israel. The Guardian has contacted her representatives for comment.
The O2 spokesperson added that, when trying to manage events that attract around 20,000 people a night, “We don’t get every decision right, all of the time, and regrettably on this occasion, the wrong judgment call was made in relation to two individuals. This was the result of a misinterpretation of the policies that we have in place and our escalation procedures were not followed correctly. For that, we sincerely apologise.”
In light of the incident, the venue said it would review procedures and training to prevent it from happening again. However its statement – including a review of policies and procedures – almost exactly mirrors one given in August after a man attending a performance at the venue by comedian Peter Kay was denied entry for wearing a “Free Gaza” shirt.
In emails seen by the Guardian, Steve Sayer, senior vice president and general manager of the O2, apologised to both Laws and Humi, offered to reimburse their tickets and expenses for the night, and invited them to another event at the venue free of charge. Humi said that she would donate any reimbursement to a Palestinian organisation.
Lorde’s support for the Palestinian people is what prompted Humi to wear her FC Palestina shirt to the concert. “My grandfather was a Jewish refugee from Austria, and he fled after Anschluss and made his way to British-occupied Palestine,” she said. “He enlisted in the British army there and then, and that’s how he survived the second world war. That makes me so emotional, that my Jewish grandfather could find safety in Palestine even though it was occupied. I hate the way that the conversation on anti-Zionism is being weaponised as antisemitism.”
The situation “put a dampener on my evening”, said Laws. “I couldn’t really enjoy myself for the rest of the night. The initial interaction felt quite hostile. They clearly don’t have a coherent policy, and if it’s up to individual staff to enact vague policy on political terms, that’s just going to lead to situations like this where what someone defines as political is very subjective.”
Humi said she did not see wearing the shirt as a political statement. “I understand that it’s become a political issue, but I don’t think it should be because standing for Palestine is just standing up for human rights.” Having a shirt confiscated felt insignificant compared to the consequences for anyone found supporting the proscribed Palestine Action group, said Humi, “but it’s all part of the same restriction on freedom of speech and political expression, and marginalising support for Palestine to make it seem like it’s a fringe issue.”
