One of the performers in an opera show appeared on stage on Saturday in London with a Palestinian flag, in a protest act condemned by the Royal Opera House.
In one of the final moments of applause from the audience, one of the cast members of Verdi’s opera “Il Trovatore” waved the Palestinian flag, with amateur videos showing someone attempting to remove it on stage.
The incident occurred as the audience applauded the cast at the end of the show.
A spokesperson for the Royal Opera House stated that the unauthorized protest was “completely inappropriate for a moment of appreciation.”
For the first time in nearly two years of genocide in Gaza, the Palestinian flag appeared onstage at the Royal Ballet and Opera in London.
The symbolic moment was disrupted when Oliver Mears, Director of Opera at the Royal Opera House, attempted to forcibly remove it, prompting… pic.twitter.com/QHaL4ajGPO
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) July 20, 2025
In the United Kingdom, at the end of June, the groups Kneecap and Bob Vylan also protested against Israel and in defense of Palestine during performances at the Glastonbury music festival.
British police concluded the investigation into the Northern Irish group Kneecap due to insufficient evidence of a crime in the anti-Israel comments made at the festival but are continuing the investigation into Bob Vylan.
The war in Gaza was triggered by attacks led by Hamas on October 7, 2023, in southern Israel, resulting in approximately 1,200 deaths and more than two hundred hostages.
Israel’s retaliation has already caused over 58,000 deaths, the destruction of nearly all of Gaza’s infrastructure, and the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.
