Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
WIRELESS in Finsbury Park: the Labour Council, their customer Live Nation and their fascist-rapper booking
GUARDIAN: Sadiq Khan and Jewish Leadership Council condemn Wireless festival ...
The Labour Council's policy of hiring out public parks has led to another controversial booking in Finsbury Park by their global, prosecuted-monopolist customer, Live Nation.
Council Leader Peray Ahmet has in the past defended and endorsed Grime as representing "working class struggle".
Grime is also associated with violence, misogyny and homophobia. Meanwhile rapper Kanye West is associated with fascism and anti-semitism.
Jobs in the council's Events Team depend on the Live Nation relationship. The council's busy PR team continue to promote Finsbury Park as a summer gig venue as part of the Borough's cultural offer.
WIRELESS 2023—CEO Festival Republic (Melvin Benn, left) with Haringey Council Leader (Peray Ahmet, right). Partners in Grime? Credit: Cllr. Ahmet's Twitter—Photo credit: probably a photographer working for council PR
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Update: at 20:30 hours, 1 April 2026
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has added his voice to the disgust already voiced and the Guardian's headline now reflects that. A few treat this as a joke. Here is what Mayor Khan had to say:
In a press statement on Wednesday 1 April, a spokesperson for London mayor Sadiq Khan said: “We are clear that the past comments and actions of this artist are offensive and wrong, and are simply not reflective of London’s values. This was a decision taken by the festival organizers and not one that City Hall is involved in.”
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Here are some sample questions for journalists or the council Opposition, to ask of Peray Ahmet, Leader of Haringey Council and currently seeking re-election in Noel Park Ward:
- When did the council leader first learn of the Kanye West booking?
- Was the urgency to bind the next two council Administrations before the "purdah" pre-election period, due to Cllr Ahmet's foreknowledge that Kanye West was likely to headline for three nights at Wireless?
- The council leader enjoys a close, cordial relationship with the Festival Republic promoter. If there was no foreknowledge of the booking, then why not? Was this headliner booking concealed from her?
- Was council leader Ahmet aware that the headliner in our public park was expelled from Australia?
- How much concern—if any—does leader Ahmet feel about the promotion of Nazi values, Hitler admiration, swastika display; anti-semitism, misogyny and homophobia?
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#LabourValues? #LabourParty? #Values?
Tags for Forum Posts: wireless
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Simon
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Finsbury Park is an asset that serves a much larger area than one Borough and should never been left to one council. This Council has used the park as a cash cow. Now is the time to have a broader governance.
I’ve not seen a condemnation from the Greens - perhaps I’ve missed it.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter
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IN Stroud Green Ward—and I understand, Harringay Ward—the Labour Party has distributed a half-A4 card featuring their SG candidates. The main slogan of this hasty election material is:
We did it!
Yes, Labour did it alright. They handed over control of our park to Live Nation … and then washed their hands of the consequences.
Then, their untruthful and misleading claim is:
Haringey Labour invests in Finsbury Park … [?}
The Labour Party has invested nothing in Finsbury Park, but the sly implication is that Labour have invested our taxes or public money in our park.
Money from private promoters is, I understand, sent to and handled by the council's Events Team. Some of the park hire cash is then spent on our park. However, any such money spent in our park appears spent first on aspects that benefit the council's customer. It is a side-benefit if the public also benefits.
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Following Pepsi, Diageo has also pulled out of Wireless sponsorship. Pay Pal is still involved for the time being. Council leader Peray Ahmet maintains silence.
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Haringey could help recoup the income lost if they stopped Liverpool Nation if they sacked all of the events team and all of their communications team. Neither give anything back to our community.
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Simon you may mean Live rather than Liverpool Nation (yes, Events Team wages may come out of park-hire receipts or are anyway a deduction from public funds. The Comms Team is overfunded. Too often, public money is used in effect to promote Labour).
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Meanwhile—and reflecting the international dimension—America's PBS (Public Broadcasting System) yesterday carried a report on the growing presure to remove "Ye"—
Pressure grows to remove Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, as the h...
Meanwhile again, the leader of the Labour Council that enabled this headliner, stays silent.
After sharp criticism from the London Labour Mayor and the UK Labour Prime Minister, Peray Ahmet must hope that her good buddy Melvin Benn comes up with another headliner ASAP and before the local elections. In any Event.
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My mistake - it was early. No big events no need for events team - people get jobs deleted in a organisations - offered redeployment or redundancy compensation. Same apples to communication team who have been used as a political mouthpiece far too long.
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Further update:
‘It has since emerged that PayPal, which is a payment partner for Wireless, will no longer allow its branding to be used on promotional material for the festival’. Source BBC (although other outlets are saying similar)
No comment that can find from the Greens or (and this is more important) no condemnation from Haringey Council Labour Leader
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton
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Simon,
"Liverpool Nation"? Is that some joke?
Now it seems you want to sack Haringey paid staff?
Do you know nothing about employment law? Have you never joined and been represented by a trades union? Your old secondary school never taught trade union history?
Or you never learned about Elections and Political Parties?
And how the law can actually be changed to produce a better match between voting and elected local Councils?
You and I might even agree that the current English system is a malfunctioning shambles?
As is the ridiculous Blairite Leader-Leader-Leader-did-I-mention-Leader Pantomime.
Or how about making an easy change? Give your full name and the Political Party you're backing. And maybe other interest group you support. Follow the example of those football fans who emblazon the name of their teams on their clothes.
Perhaps yours is truly Liverpool?
Then come out proud.
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Permalink Reply by Eric Easter
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It's not only the Labour 'leadership' of Haringey Council that remains silent. The MPs of the three electorates surrounding Finsbury Park are also silent: David Lammy, Dianne Abbot and Jeremy Corbyn. Now I wonder why..... oh, hang on...
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AGREE, but the leader has now spoken up.
In effect, a landlady agreed to rent a room to a dodgy lodger, but now entertains second thoughts and disappointment.
The lodger is playing rap music at 100 dB, shouting and swearing with hatred, misogyny, homophobia and extremist views thrown in. But we are led to believe the landlady's hands are tied and she is utterly powerless.
The neighbours are not impressed.
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Where are the marchers, the protestors, the activists, the trades unions? The views espoused by West should be anathema to those who claim to hate 'fascism'. It's quite revealing. When they are confronted by actual fascist views they remain silent. They remained silent when the ambulances where firebombed. They remained silent when the synagogue was attacked. But if someone flies an English flag...
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Simon, please tell me how many children's lives will be saved when Kanye West doesn't sing a single note in our park.
Nations of Live Children in Countries, Cities villages, smashed to rubble, small children, babies in cots, their older sisters and brothers in Gaza, Haifa, Tel Aviv, South Lebanon, Teheran, and their weeping parents and grannies and on an on and on and on and on and on forever while the mad king Donald raves and swears and mad king bibi smiles, and prime ministers and home secretaries hurry to vital meetings....
How many signatures on how many petitions to save one life? Or avoid one injury? What names shall we squiggle?
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