Just Stop Oil Protestors Disrupt Glyndebourne Opera

A production of Dialogues de Carmelites at Glyndebourne was disrupted at 5.30pm yesterday evening (June 15) as Just Stop Oil protestors let off air horns and a confetti bomb.

Security staff at the venue immediately cleared the stage and protestors were "peacefully" escorted outside.

A statement on the Glyndebourne website said that police were not on site at the time so no arrests were made and that the opera had restarted at 5.52pm.

The venue, which generates electricity with its own wind turbine, released a statement at 7pm last night, thanking the audience for its patience:

"We are very sorry to everyone whose visit to Glyndebourne was affected by the protest action today. Our highest priority was the safety and security of everyone on site and we would like to thank our staff and performers, whose calm and professional response kept everyone safe and disruption to a minimum."

Just Stop Oil released its own statement just before 5pm yesterday evening (seemingly before the protest had started), announcing that three of their campaigners had been arrested at the event.

Their statement reads:

"Three Just Stop Oil supporters have been arrested for disrupting an opera at the Glyndebourne Festival. They are demanding that the UK Government halt all licences and consents for new oil, gas and coal projects.

"At around 5:35pm, Just Stop Oil supporters blasted air-horns and set off glitter canons during ‘Dialogues des Carmélites’, which is being performed at the world-renowned festival. They then displayed a Just Stop Oil banner as they addressed the audience, before being forcibly removed from the venue and arrested."

One of those taking action, Pia Baas, 29, a community worker from London, said:

“This government is sacrificing everything we know and love, to enrich themselves. But you cannot eat money! We are on a course for mass hunger and societal collapse if we do not act urgently.”

"Our cultural institutions have failed to admit this truth and failed to address the urgency of action. It is immoral for cultural institutions to stand by and watch whilst our society faces inevitable collapse."

“We call on art and cultural institutions, like Glynbourne, to make a statement demanding that the government end new oil, gas and coal. Those working in cultural institutions must join in civil resistance against this criminal and illigitimate regime."

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Between 2012 and 2020, the 67 metre Enercon wind turbine at Glyndebourne has generated the equivalent of 105% of the electricity used by the company in that period, far exceeding the 90% annual target of the venue and resulting in a 50% cut in their carbon emissions.

Due to the impact of lockdown, Glyndebourne used less electricity in 2020 than it would in an average year – the excess electricity generated by the turbine was sent to the National Grid to provide a source of green energy for the local community.

Galvanised by the success of the wind turbine, Glyndebourne continues to look for new and creative ways to cut its environmental footprint.

Information from Glyndebourne.com.