Singapore bans Massive Attack after Palestinian flag display at concert; band calls detention 'surreal'

Concert and flag display

On July 29, British trip-hop group Massive Attack performed at the Star Theatre in Singapore. Before the show and at its conclusion, large sections of the audience chanted "Free Palestine". In response, band members Robert Del Naja (known as 3D) and Grant Marshall (Daddy G) unfurled a Palestinian flag on stage and held it aloft. One of them also shouted "Free Palestine", according to a police statement. The band, formed in Bristol in 1988, has a long history of political activism; at a Berlin concert in June they similarly displayed the flag and screened videos on conflicts in Gaza, Iran, Sudan, and Ukraine. The Singapore show featured a live backing band and guest vocalist Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins.

Police detention and ban

After the performance, Singapore police detained the entire group. Members were isolated and questioned separately. Some had their hotel rooms searched and their passports temporarily confiscated. On August 1, the Singapore Police Force and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) announced that two band members had been issued stern warnings and permanently barred from re-entering Singapore. The authorities said future concert permit applications from the band would not be approved. The investigation, conducted in consultation with the Attorney-General's Chambers, focused on the unauthorised display of a foreign flag and support for a political cause. The stern warnings were issued for offences under section 3 of the Foreign National Emblems (Control of Display) Act 1949 and section 16 of the Public Order Act. Under the 1949 act, displaying a foreign national emblem without a permit carries a penalty of up to S$500 (about $390) or six months in jail. The police statement said the actions "could potentially harm the racial and religious harmony in Singapore", a city-state of 6.11 million people where roughly 15% of citizens and permanent residents are Muslim. Police did not name the two members, but local media footage showed Del Naja and Marshall.

Band's response

On August 2, Massive Attack posted a statement on Instagram expressing shock at the police action. They said they were "surprised and disappointed" that the entire band was detained, isolated, and separately questioned. The statement read:

“We did not imagine that merely holding up the flag of a sovereign state recognised by 157 countries (Palestine) would violate any law.”

The group described the episode as a "surreal experience" and a reminder of the importance of defending universal human rights and freedom of expression wherever those rights are threatened. They said they were proud to have made an "impromptu expression" of solidarity with their fans, who "clearly felt a moral imperative to show solidarity with the people of Palestine". The band also called on Singapore to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to strengthen free expression protections.

Legal context and criticism

Singapore strictly prohibits public displays of foreign national emblems without a permit, a rule the authorities say is essential to maintaining social cohesion in the ethnically and religiously diverse nation. The police urged "the public, including foreigners, to refrain from importing foreign politics as this can undermine our social cohesion and the rule of law." Critics, however, argue that such laws stifle free speech. Massive Attack is not the first musical act to face restrictions in Singapore: Led Zeppelin were refused entry at the airport in February 1972 under Singapore's ban on long hair on men, and flew out without playing; Madonna was barred from performing in 1993 on moral and religious grounds. In April 2026, Del Naja was among more than 500 people arrested in London during a protest against the UK's proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation. That same month, a Singapore court fined three women for organising a pro-Palestine walk in 2024, during which letters were delivered to then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urging him to cut ties with Israel.