Witch Fever have called out Download Festival for enforcing bathroom restrictions for trans attendees, joining NOAHFINNCE and Pinkshift in protest.
Witch Fever have joined the growing list of artists calling out Download Festival over its stated policy on bathroom access for trans attendees.
Earlier this week, artists NOAHFINNCE and Pinkshift voiced frustration at what appears to be the festival’s intent to follow interim guidance from the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which advises that “trans women should not be permitted to use the women’s facilities and trans men should not be permitted to use the men’s facilities.”
The information came to light via a screenshot shared by NOAHFINNCE, seemingly taken from a Download customer support email. In it, the festival stated: “We are proud of the reputation the Download community has in terms of diversity, and will always look to promote the safety and comfort of all festival attendees including transgender and non-binary customers,” before citing the EHRC’s April 25 guidance.
NOAHFINNCE responded bluntly: “Hey @downloadfest what the fuck are you doing. How have you got the gall to invite trans people like me to play your festival and then ban them from using the toilet?”
“If the only way we can piss is by outing ourselves then you’ve created an unsafe environment,” he added.
“I had a great time playing last year but will not be attending again if I have to queue up for the ladies’ bathroom and my trans sisters have to risk outing themselves in the men’s bathroom. All this does is put trans people in danger,” he said. “If you’re playing @downloadfest, attending it or even just aware of it, say something about it.”
Manchester post-punk band Witch Fever, who performed at the festival in 2023, have now added their voice to the protest. Answering a fan question on Instagram Stories, the band said: “The threat to trans people’s safety by forcing them to enter toilets that are assigned to a gender that they don’t associate with is a complete fuckin tragedy. We are hoping this decision gets changed.”
The policy cited by Download is rooted in an April 16 ruling by the UK Supreme Court, which found that the definition of “woman” under the Equality Act 2010 should refer strictly to biological sex. Following that decision, the Equality Human Rights Commission issued new interim guidance backing the exclusion of trans people from single-sex spaces.
More than 1,000 cultural figures have since signed an open letter opposing the ruling according to the BBC, saying it “overlooks the need to protect trans, non-binary and intersex people from discrimination.” The letter added that many cultural leaders are “unwilling” to police people’s toilet choices in public venues.
Download Festival 2024 runs from June 13 to 15 at Donington Park, with Green Day, Sleep Token and KoRn topping the bill. Also on the lineup are Weezer, Jimmy Eat World, and Poppy.
Download has yet to respond to the backlash beyond the email shared by NOAHFINNCE, but with the event looming ever-closer, all eyes are on the festival organisers.
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