Massive Attack have said they were "surprised and disappointed" by their treatment by Singaporean authorities following a performance in Singapore on Thursday, July 29th, 2026, where they expressed pro-Palestine sentiments.

The band wrote on Instagram that its members were "detained by the police, isolated and separately questioned," with some subjected to hotel room searches and temporary passport confiscation. During the concert, two members of the band held up a Palestinian flag and shouted "free Palestine" alongside the audience.

Singapore, known for its stringent rules on public speech and assembly, subsequently announced an indefinite ban on Massive Attack returning to the country. A police spokeswoman told the BBC on Friday, August 1st, 2026, that the two band members would not be allowed to re-enter Singapore and were barred from performing there.

Robert Del Naja and Grant Marshall were "given stern warnings" concerning alleged offences under two laws that restrict the public display of foreign flags and regulate political expressions at public events.

Massive Attack stated that before the show and again at the end, "large sections of the auditorium organically led chants of 'Free Palestine', presumably aware but undeterred that this spontaneous expression alone could violate their government's censorship laws." The band described the situation as a "surreal experience" and said they "did not imagine that merely holding up the flag of a sovereign state recognised by 157 countries would violate any law."

A Singaporean official commented that "artists should respect the laws of the countries they perform in."

Earlier in 2026, Robert Del Naja was arrested on suspicion of showing support for the proscribed organisation Palestine Action during a protest in London.

Sources