An upcoming Kneecap gig in Vienna has been cancelled “due to acute safety concerns” following political pressure from Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ).
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The show was set to take place next month (September 1) at the Gasometer venue, but was axed after FPÖ politician Leo Lugner threatened legal action against the venue operator.
Last week, Lugner claimed that the Gasometer would need to be “scrutinised with regard to all public funding” if the performance went ahead. The cancellation follows the scrapping of a planned screening of Kneecap’s film in Vienna earlier this summer, also due to “safety concerns”.
The Irish trio have said there is a smear campaign against them because of their support of Palestine and criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
In a statement on social media, they apologised to fans, writing: “To the 3500 people we were looking forward to seeing at our first headline show in Vienna, we are sorry: This is out of our hands. All tickets will be refunded.”
They will now play a headline show in Warsaw, Poland, on September 1.
“Due to acute safety concerns on the part of the authorities”, our planned show in Vienna on September 1st is cancelled.
This follows the recent cancellation of a screening of our movie as part of the Vienna Cultural Summer due to “threats” and “security concerns”.
Leo… pic.twitter.com/VrUPlicSZ8
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) August 8, 2025
“Fuck Leo Lugner,” they added, before describing the cancellation as a “political distraction and a further attempt to silence those who call out genocide against the Palestinian people.”
“But as always, we will fight on for what is right.”
Kneecap has consistently said – including at festivals Coachella and Glastonbury – that Israel is committing a “genocide” in Gaza, and have denied accusations of anti-Semitism, claiming that those attacking the band “weaponize” the false accusation to “distract, confuse, and provide cover for genocide.”
Since Hamas’ attack on Israeli citizens on October 7, 2023, multiple UN human-rights experts and UN bodies have stated that Israel’s military actions in Gaza amount to genocide, with the International Court of Justice finding claims of genocide plausible.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 61,158 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023. Israel rejects the genocide accusations and denies committing any war crimes, maintaining that its operations are lawful acts of self-defence, claims Kneecap have vocally rebuked.
The band have also found themselves making headlines after footage emerged of member Mo Chara allegedly shouting “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah” and displaying a Hezbollah flag on stage. Chara has since appeared in court and been granted unconditional bail; he is due to appear in court again on August 20.
This summer has seen the band dropped from a number of line-ups, including TRNSMT, Germany’s Hurricane Festival and Southside Festivals, and Cornwall’s Eden Project. Last month, it was also confirmed that they had been banned from Hungary for three years ahead of their planned performance at Sziget, which would have fallen this weekend (August 9).
In a statement shared with NME, Sziget called the ban “an unprecedented move which we believe is both unnecessary and regrettable.” Kneecap also responded to the news of their travel ban, and described the decision as “fucking outrageous”.
Earlier this year, Kneecap’s manager spoke out in defence of the band, and said the members “stand on the right side of history” with their pro-Palestine messaging. “Children are starving to death, and we’re spending six or seven days talking about Kneecap,” Lambert said on RTÉ’s Prime Time in April. “We spent less than a day talking about 15 executed medics.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer was among the politicians who called for the Irish rap trio to be removed from the line-up for this year’s Glastonbury Festival, and recently told NME why he felt the need to speak out.
“Kneecap shouldn’t be performing at Glastonbury, and I don’t support inciting violence as free speech,” he told us. “I think it’s important that we distinguish the issues we all care about and should be spoken about freely on the one hand, and then the incitement to violence on the other. They’re two different things.”
Last month, Kneecap hit back at the government and critics, saying that they “want to make us seem small”.
