Hozier and Wembley Arena have responded after a fan was told to remove their ‘Free Palestine’ scarf upon entry at the venue last year.In December 2023, a concert attendee named Hiba Ahmad recounted their experience on X/Twitter of being “pulled aside and escorted to wardrobe” for wearing a scarf in solidarity with Palestine at the concert.The Irish artist performed at the OVO Arena Wembley on December 15 as part of his 2023 UK and Ireland tour.The fan wrote that they wear the ‘Free Palestine’ scarf “everywhere as a show of solidarity” and “because it is fucking cold”.“They then proceeded to tell me they are taking my scarf for my own protection as I might get ‘hate crimed’ for wearing it,” the social media thread stated.The attendee added that staff said they would not confiscate their pride key chain, because they are “not political”.“On the way in I saw people being let in with all sorts of political slogans – especially one memorable tote bag about animal cruelty and testing,” the posts added. “But hey, animals > Palestinians right?”One is an acceptable from of solidarity by @OVOArena the other one isn’t.
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