Several activists including Greta Thunberg joined Sam Fender onstage in Denmark to call for a “Free Palestine” – check out footage of the moment below.
- READ MORE: Sam Fender – ‘People Watching’ review: reflective and perceptive indie rock from North Shields’ shining star
Last night (August 8), Fender headlined the second day of the Syd for Solen festival in Valbyparken park, playing a series of fan favourites including ‘Seventeen Going Under’, ‘Howdon Aldi Death Queue’ and more, before inviting a handful of special guests to the stage.
Introducing the final song of the night, ‘Hypersonic Missiles’, he told the Copenhagen crowd he had written the track – which includes the line: “I am so blissfully unaware of everything/ Kids in Gaza are bombed and I’m just out of it” – back in 2018, said it was now more relevant than ever, per Danish outlet Gaffa.
“I have a special guest with me today,” he said, as climate activist Thunberg walked onto the stage alongside other activists, including Selma de Montgomery, a UNICEF ambassador and part of the Green Youth Movement, and Roba Al-Sharkawi.
A large Palestinian flag was projected on the screen, with a microphone passed around among the activists as they prompted chants of “Free, free Palestine” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
“The Danish government is guilty of the suffering that is escalating day by day in Gaza and in the rest of Palestine,” said Selma de Montgomery, per Gaffa. “They are guilty when they repeatedly make the devastating and deeply radical choices of not putting an end to the Danish arms trade with Israel.”
Sam Fender at Syd for Solen 2025 played:
Recommended
‘Getting Started’
‘Will We Talk?’
‘Arm’s Length’
‘The Borders’
‘Howdon Aldi Death Queue’
‘Tyrants’
‘Crumbling Empire’
‘People Watching’
‘Spit of You’
‘Seventeen Going Under’
‘Hypersonic Missiles’
The gig marked Fender’s first show back after he was forced to pull performances at Rock Werchter, Down The Rabbit Hole, NOS Alive, and the Montreux Jazz Festival due to a vocal haemorrhage.
News of the cancelled shows followed him wrapping a huge UK summer stadium tour, which included three homecoming gigs at St. James’ Park that reportedly boosted the local economy by £16.5million.
Today at Sam’s show @GretaThunberg was present talking about Palestine! 🇵🇸
FREE PALESTINE pic.twitter.com/muN9wOmHWs— Sam Fender Daily (@dailyfender) August 8, 2025
The sold-out shows made Fender the first Geordie artist to headline the stadium, and saw him bring out AC/DC’s Brian Johnson and pay tribute to Bruce Springsteen.
This month, Fender will play three big outdoor gigs in Manchester, Edinburgh and Belfast, as well as top the bill at Ireland’s Electric Picnic. Find any remaining tickets for Fender’s UK and Ireland headline dates here.
In a four-star review of his most recent album, ‘People Watching’, NME shared: “Reflective, analytical and vulnerable, ‘People Watching’ does exactly what the title may suggest: takes stock of the characters, friends and loved ones who have made Fender the person he is today. He approaches each track with sensitivity as he looks back on his life so far – perhaps even with an inkling of guilt – and contemplates who he may be next.”
In other news, Fender is currently a favourite to headline Glastonbury 2027.
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