Kneecap, the Irish rap trio, have been banned from entering Hungary.

Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, has barred Liam Og O hAnnaidh, Naoise O Caireallain, and JJ O Dochartaigh, from the country.

They had been scheduled to perform at Sziget Festival on Aug 11, and remain on the line-up on its website.

Zoltan Kovacs, a government spokesman, wrote on X that the decision to ban Kneecap was because its “members repeatedly engage in anti-Semitic hate speech supporting terrorism and terrorist groups”. 

He said: “Hungary has zero tolerance for anti-Semitism in any form.”

Saying the performance posed a “national security threat”, the government has “formally banned” Kneecap for three years, the spokesman added. “If they enter, expulsion will follow under international norms.”