To the Organisers of Glastonbury Festival

Glastonbury Festival has a proud tradition of standing for justice, climate action, and international solidarity. As one of the world’s most celebrated cultural events, Glastonbury has long been a beacon for progressive values. Glastonbury raises the political consciousness of hundreds of thousands of people who attend the festival each year and engage with it online, highlighting the genocide in Gaza, exploitation of migrants, and calling for peace and justice. 

While we embrace the principles and values that Glastonbury stands for, we are compelled to raise serious concerns about the festival’s connection to Allianz who provide insurance coverage for the event.

Allianz is the 6th largest insurer of fossil fuels globally, as well as, a major backer of the weapons and border industries. Allianz continues to insure and invest in companies such as Elbit Systems, Chevron and Serco, whose business actively enables climate destruction, the Israeli genocide of Palestinians, and the violent detention of migrants. 

Allianz insurers and holds substantial investments in companies involved in global injustice: 

• Elbit Systems – Allianz insurers Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, which has built its technological empire by testing its weapons on the Palestinian people and supplying the Israeli military with the means to commit genocide. With factories in Israel, the UK and US, Elbit has made itself indispensable to both Israel’s military campaigns and the global arms trade, supplying repressive regimes from Azerbaijan to the Philippines.
• Textron – Allianz insures Textron, whose machinery provides surveillance used to coordinate bombing runs on refugee camps and hospitals, and directs Israeli airstrikes in densely populated areas, killing people in Gaza. Textron also supplies critical components for the US’ land-based nuclear missiles—including the new Sentinel program designed to threaten global annihilation for decades to come.
• Serco – Allianz invests $7,300,000 in Serco, which runs four “immigration removal centres”, including the infamous Yarl’s Wood–notorious for its continuous allegations of human rights abuses. Serco also operates the UK’s GPS tagging program for migrants and asylum seekers, subjecting them to 24/7 surveillance.
• Chevron – Allianz invests $73,816,210 in Chevron, which is one of the world’s top five private oil giants. Chevron has left a trail of devastation across continents—from the toxic ruins of Ecuador’s Amazon to the militarised gas fields fuelling Israel’s war machine. The company ranks as history’s fourth-largest carbon polluter. 

With Allianz as Glastonbury’s insurer, the festival stands in stark contradiction to the principles that it champions. As the devastating consequences of global imperialism deepen, we know that it is not enough to raise awareness. We must withdraw our material support for the companies that are driving the destruction of our planet and the killing of people across the globe. 

We therefore call on Glastonbury Festival to drop Allianz as an insurer. Glastonbury is a cultural force, and by choosing who it partners with, the festival sends a powerful message about its ongoing commitment to justice and liberation. Glastonbury can help set a new standard for ethical partnerships in the music and culture industry. 

We urge you to act with courage and integrity.