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Banksy launches inflatable migrant boat artwork during Idles’ Glastonbury set

Band say they were unaware of stunt by artist until after their set headlining the Other stage

It has been revealed that the street and performance artist Banksy was behind a stunt during Idles’ set at Glastonbury, when an inflatable life raft holding dummy migrants was launched across the crowd. The raft, a reference to the small boats carrying migrants across the Channel that have been such a high-profile target of Rishi Sunak’s immigration policy, was crowdsurfed through the thousands-strong Other stage crowd, which Idles were headlining on Friday night. He designed the Union flag-emblazoned stab-proof vest worn by Stormzy during his 2019 Pyramid stage headline set, and in 2014 he commandeered a livestock transportation van that drove around the site with cuddly toys emerging from it.

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