A photograph has emerged of Tánaiste Leo Varadkar attending a music festival in London on the same weekend Electric Picnic was due to take place.
The photo appears to show Mr Varadkar at the Mighty Hoopla festival in Brockwell Park on Saturday.
The image was shared with the caption: “Interesting that Leo Varadkar has come to a festival in the UK today, while failing to commit to a plan for the Irish entertainment industry.”
A spokesperson for the Tánaiste said he is “currently in the UK on private time where such events are allowed.”
On the weekend that Electric Picnic was meant to be on, here is @LeoVaradkar at the unsegregated full-on full capacity Might Hoopla Festival London. Entry with Covid passport or PCR test.
Angry? Please let him & his colleagues who have crippled our entertainment industry know pic.twitter.com/ioz3iCnZGM— Mark Graham (@IreMusPod) September 4, 2021
“Festivals and concerts are permitted in Ireland from Monday. The Tánaiste is one of the strongest supporters of the events industry in Government.
“He supported Electric Picnic going ahead and helped secure the reopening plan for concerts and other big events beginning on Monday with capacity limits and vaccination certificate moving to full capacity next month.”
“The industry has received over €100 million in financial support from Government, not including EWSS [employment wage subsidy scheme] and PUP [pandemic unemployment payment].”
Figures from the music industry expressed disappointment at the photo while some opposition politicians were also critical.
Events manager and promoter Buzz O'Neill Maxwell responded to the photo by tweeting: “Ignores our calls to open up our entertainment industry, then f***s off to a festival in the UK. Zero shame.”
Mark Graham, who produces the Irish Music Industry Podcast, said: “On the weekend that Electric Picnic was meant to be on, here is Leo Varadkar at the unsegregated full-on full capacity Mighty Hoopla Festival London. Entry with Covid passport or PCR test. Angry? Please let him and his colleagues who have crippled our entertainment industry know.”
Gary Gannon, a Social Democrats TD, called the decision to attend “massively tone deaf”.
Earlier this week, organisers of Electric Picnic confirmed the festival will not go ahead this year despite the planned easing of Covid-19 restrictions in the Republic on Monday.
The Mighty Hoopla describes itself as “the UK's best pop festival” with Cheryl, Alexandra Burke and Atomic Kitten headlining this year's edition.
Proof of vaccination or a negative PCR or lateral flow test was needed to enter the one-day event in south London. The organisers say up to 25,000 people can fill the festival site, but it is not known how many attended on Saturday.
