Zurich parties urge city to block Kneecap concert

Zurich’s centre-right parties have urged the city council to seek an entry ban for the Northern Irish hip-hop group Kneecap ahead of its November 22 concert. The call came in a motion to the city parliament, SRF reported.

The parties say the group’s members support Palestine, sharply criticise Israel and have referred to a genocide in Gaza. They cite alleged support for terrorism as a reason to prevent the performance at X-tra, a concert venue where the show has been sold out for months.

The parties point in particular to a 2024 concert in London, where a band member displayed a flag of the Lebanese group Hezbollah on stage. The resulting proceedings were discontinued because of procedural errors.

They also cited performance bans in Canada and Hungary. In 2025, Kneecap’s concerts at Germany’s Hurricane and Southside festivals were cancelled. The group has already performed in Switzerland, appearing in Neuchatel this summer. Concerts in Lausanne and Geneva are also planned, and all are sold out.

The city council’s powers are limited, the parties acknowledge. But the city lends money to the private Limmathaus Foundation, which owns the venue, and appoints members to its board. The parties want the council to use its influence to set clear expectations for the foundation and venue operator.