Hay Festival issues major update after Charlotte Church announces boycott

The Hay Festival has suspended its sponsorship with investment management firm Baillie Gifford following pressure from campaigners and artists. Welsh singer Charlotte Church was among several high-profile figures including comedian Nish Kumar and Labour MP Dawn Butler to withdraw from the literary festival, which runs until June 2.

The decision follows calls from campaign group Fossil Free Books for the festival sponsor to divest from the fossil fuel industry. The group claims that Baillie Gifford has between £2.5-5 billion invested in the fossil fuel industry and nearly £10 billion in companies linked directly or indirectly to Israel's defence, tech, and cybersecurity industries. Join our WhatsApp news community here for the latest breaking news.

A spokesperson for Baillie Gifford refuted these claims, stating that the suggestion it is a significant investor in the occupied Palestinian territories is "seriously misleading". Julie Finch, CEO of Hay Festival Global, emphasised that the charity's first priority is "our audience and our artists".

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Singer Charlotte Church, who in recent months has become a prominent pro-Palestinian campaigner, had announced her boycott of the festival on social media, saying it was "in protest of the artwashing and greenwashing that is apparent in this sponsorship". Comedian Nish Kumar also announced his withdrawal on social media, stating that dropping out "was the right decision for me".

In a statement, Ms Finch said: "In light of claims raised by campaigners and intense pressure on artists to withdraw, we have taken the decision to suspend our sponsorship from Baillie Gifford. Our first priority is to our audience and our artists.

"Above all else, we must preserve the freedom of our stages and spaces for open debate and discussion, where audiences can hear a range of perspectives. Hay Festival Global is a charity.

"We are grateful to all those artists, partners and audiences who engage and contribute to the conversation, on stage and off. We look forward to welcoming you this fortnight, in person and online."

A representative from Fossil Free Books said: "This announcement shows the power we have when we unite as workers." They continued: "Our primary demand remains that Baillie Gifford divest."

A spokesperson for Baillie Gifford said: “It is regrettable our sponsorship with the festival cannot continue. The suggestion that Baillie Gifford is a large investor in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is seriously misleading.

“It is based on conflating two different types of exposure.” The statement said the companies the firm has invested in, which have commercial dealings with the state of Israel, have not violated any laws in doing business with the country.

The statement continued: “We are not a significant fossil fuel investor. Only 2% of our clients’ money is invested in companies with some business related to fossil fuels.” It added: “Baillie Gifford is a long-standing supporter of literature and the arts.

“This support is driven by our contention that we should contribute to the communities in which we operate, in the hope that the organisations we work with gain lasting benefits.”