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Helsinki’s Flow Festival, a major highlight of Finland’s summer music scene, is facing calls for boycott and heated debate as artists and activists protest the event’s indirect economic links to Israel. The controversy has sparked open disagreements between high-profile performers and festival management, with ripple effects across Finland’s live music industry.
The uproar centers on the Flow Strike campaign, which calls on the festival to “sever all ties” with Israeli companies and to pressure its ultimate owner, global investment giant KKR, to divest from Israel-linked holdings.
Flow was acquired by British-based Superstruct in 2018, then by U.S. investor KKR in 2024. KKR’s diversified portfolio includes some assets in Israel, though their scale has been described as relatively small.
Flow Strike’s demands extend further, urging the festival to drop partners with Israel operations, including major sponsors like Heineken and Google, and to introduce strict ethical guidelines for all collaborators. Organizers of the boycott assert that meaningful divestment is necessary, contending, “Flow Festival is complicit in upholding Israel’s apartheid regime,” and urging other European festivals in the KKR portfolio to follow suit.
As festival weekend approaches, artists are grappling with whether to perform, cancel, or find alternative forms of protest. Notably, singer Pehmoaino (Aino Morko), rapper Melo (Niko Katavainen), and others have publicly considered withdrawing, viewing their compensation as tainted; several have pledged to donate their Flow earnings to Palestinian solidarity groups.
Yet, the issue of artist contracts has become a flashpoint. Both Pehmoaino and Melo cited financial penalties as reasons for not cancelling their appearances. “Even though I’d like to cancel, I can’t because of the expenses,” Pehmoaino explained, while Melo was explicit about the presence of a “hefty penalty” for withdrawal. In contrast, Flow’s artistic director Tuomas Kallio has repeatedly insisted that no such punitive clauses exist in their standard agreements, stating that, “Artists can cancel for any reason, and the festival cannot impose penalties,” although organizers may seek reimbursement for unusual outlays, such as custom technical equipment, if requested for a specific act.
Industry organizations have weighed in, noting that while “punitive” breach-of-contract fines are not standard, artists may owe actual damages if they cancel too close to the performance date, such as if their withdrawal imposes costs on organizers (equipment rentals, staffing). Finland’s leading live music union confirms that standard contract terms allow mutual cancellation for emergencies, but “in live music there is no ready-made process for these kinds of political withdrawals,” and no clear precedent for enforcing cancellation fines through Finnish courts.
The debate has strained relationships among artists, fans, and festival staff. Some, like Ruusut’s Miikka Koivisto, express discomfort with the financial connections but argue the focus should be broader, targeting government policies and the industry as a whole, rather than individual musicians’ choices. Meanwhile, performers such as Litku Klemetti point to the complexities and pervasiveness of global investment, arguing the “ownership chain is so convoluted that it scarcely constitutes direct support for Israel”.
Flow’s leadership, for its part, characterizes the criticism as both important and frustrating. As Kallio notes, “Virtually every major player in music has some link to Israel, whether through ownership or commercial footprint. No single event can guarantee perfect ethical purity, especially in a sector dominated by global conglomerates.” He adds that the festival will continue dialog with artists and the public but cannot control the decisions of its parent company.
As Flow Festival opens its gates, the spotlight lingers on the evolving demands for ethical accountability in the music business. While a total boycott remains logistically out of reach in such a globalized industry, this summer’s controversy has made clear that artists and audiences alike are no longer satisfied with business as usual, and expect greater transparency and action from the institutions they support.
HT
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