The Comet Is Coming have announced that they will no longer be playing their last ever live show, in support of Palestine.
The London-based jazz-funk band were set to play their final show in Bratislava tonight (October 20), however, have announced to fans that this will no longer be taking place due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
“We have decided to cancel our concert tonight in Bratislava. We stand in solidarity with the global call to strike by our Palestinian brothers and sisters who are in the midst of a genocidal assault,” they wrote on X/Twitter earlier today, confirming the cancellation just hours before the gig was due to start.
“This was to be our final show. Our last statement is a call for immediate ceasefire, an end to the illegal occupation of Palestine and routine violence against the Palestinian people.”
News of their disbandment came earlier this year, when the members shared a post online confirming that after their world tour takes place, they would be going on an indefinite hiatus (until “the stars align and the planet needs us”).
The band first broke onto the scene with their Mercury Prize-nominated debut album ‘Channel the Spirits’, and more recently released their critically acclaimed ‘Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam’ album and performed at the 2023 edition of Glastonbury.
We have decided to cancel our concert tonight in Bratislava. We stand in solidarity with the global call to strike by our Palestinian brothers and sisters who are in the midst of a genocidal assault.
This was to be our final show. pic.twitter.com/SvP87QVMHL— The Comet is Coming (@cometcoming) October 20, 2023
The band are far from the first names in the music world to speak out against the ongoing Israel/Palestine conflict.
Last week, Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine made headlines after he called for the condemnation of harm to all children “no matter who they are” after Jamie Lee Curtis deleted a photo of Palestinians.
The actor’s support for Israel came after Hamas operatives launched an attack against Israel earlier this month, and she subsequently shared a post of the damage in Gaza, expressing her support of Israel.
“I’d like to make the radical proposal that the harming of children, no matter who they are & no matter who does it, is always wrong and should be condemned,” Morello wrote in a tweet that referenced Curtis’ update.
Additionally, earlier this week Tilda Swinton, Steve Coogan and Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja were some of the 2,000 people from across the entertainment world who signed an open letter calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Miriam Margoyles, Maxine Peake, Frankie Boyle and Charles Dance are also among the signatories of the letter, which condemns various governments for “not only tolerating war crimes but aiding and abetting them” amid the current conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, as well as “every act of violence against civilians and every infringement of international law whoever perpetrates them”.
The letter also comes in light of the recent hospital explosion in Gaza City, which left hundreds dead.
Following the attack, Palestinian officials said the blast was caused by an Israeli air strike, however, the Israeli military claimed it was the result of a failed rocket launch by Palestinian Islamic Jihad – an accusation which the militant group rejected.
As reported by BBC News, a doctor stated that around 80 per cent of the hospital had been taken out of service. It also estimated that 1,000 people had been killed or injured.
Model Gigi Hadid spoke out on the conflict also, and was later criticised by the State of Israel after she shared a post about the Israel-Hamas war.
The model, who is of Palestinian descent, shared a graphic to her Instagram Story earlier this week, which read: “There is nothing Jewish about the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians. Condemning the Israeli government is not antisemitic and supporting Palestinians is not supporting Hamas.” She also shared a separate post expressing her “deep empathy and heartbreak for the Palestinian struggle” to her 79million followers.
In response, the State of Israel page shared Hadid’s post on their own Instagram Story, writing: “Have you been sleeping the past week? Or are you just fine turning a blind eye to Jewish babies being butchered in their homes? Your silence has been very clear about where you stand. We see you.”
According to a recent update by Al Jazeera, the death toll in Gaza stands at 3,478 killed and 12,065 others wounded. It also reports that in Israel, at least 1,400 have been killed and 3,800 injured since the October 7 Hamas attacks.
On Monday (October 16), Riz Ahmed was another famous face who spoke out about the conflict on social media. “We are told that there are two sides to what is happening in Israel and Palestine. But in my heart, I know there is only one – the side of our humanity,” he wrote.
Similarly, before the open letter calling for a ceasefire, it was reported that Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Mark Hamill and Jamie Lee Curtis were among 700 Hollywood figures who signed an open letter voicing their support for Israel amid the ongoing Hamas war.
Figures including Jerry Seinfeld, Amy Schumer, and Mayim Bialik also added their names to the “first of its kind” letter, condemning the actions of Hamas as acts of terrorism.