Neo-Nazi Music Festival Cancelled After Opposition From Anti-Fascists

A neo-Nazi music festival that was due to be held in Great Yarmouth this weekend has been cancelled under pressure from anti-facist campaign group Hope Not Hate.

The event, billed as ‘Resurrection 4’, was described by Hope Not Hate as “the biggest white power gig in Britain in 10 years” and was due to see 500 neo-Nazis and skinheads interested in the ‘oi’ punk scene descend on to the seaside town.

The festival was organised by Rob Claymore, a supporter of the British Movement, an openly Nazi organisation, and Robert Bray a veteran of the neo-Nazi group Blood and Honour. Recent posts in a Telegram channel linked to the British Movement include the claim that the group is the “voice of national socialism in Britain” and a photo of someone holding leaflets next to Buckingham Palace which read “stand up for the 14 words” a reference to the nazi slogan “we must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children”.

In January of this year, Blood and Honour had their assets frozen by the British Government. Although it has not been proscribed, it is the first extremist right wing organisation to face an asset freeze under the Treasury’s sanctions regime.

According to Hope Not Hate, several members of the bands booked for the festival have ties to, or are members of, fascist groups. This includes Gary Smith, the drummer of the band Crucified who is a former activist for Combat 18, a fascist group. Smith was also a member of the band No Remorse which made what German authorities described as “the most extreme nazi CD ever produced”.

Sal, a Great Yarmouth local resident told Byline Times, “it was organised for the same time as Pride, I don’t know if that was deliberate, but I felt very uneasy about it being in the town. I believe in freedom of speech, so I felt kind of uneasy about it being completely cancelled. But it would have been much better if it could have been held in a camp or a venue out of town so it didn’t coincide with the [LGBTQ+} pride events and didn’t upset people in the town.”

According to Hope Not Hate, the festival sold 500 tickets before it was cancelled,  netting an approximate £35,000.

Hope Not Hate started a campaign to get the festival cancelled in August. Over 34,000 people responded to HNH’s call to write to the Home Office urging them to cancel the visas of international bands booked for Resurrection 4, the festival was pulled and local police say they are investigating the matter.

Nick Lowles, CEO of Hope Not Hate said “These hate-fests have no place in our communities, as is evident from the over 34,000 people who joined Hope Not Hate in emailing the Home Office and spreading the word. The cancellation will be a huge financial hit for the promoters and will deter people from planning similar nazi skinhead gigs.”  

Rupert Lowe, the Independent MP for Great Yarmouth who previously sat with Reform UK, appears not to have commented publicly on the plans to hold the neo-Nazi festival in his constituency.

On Rupert Lowe’s lack of public opposition to the festival Sal told Byline Times: “this directly affects his constituency, the people in it, and the holidaymaker trade. He should be very vocal in his opposition to it, but he’s not. He’s not uttered a word. So, I’m pretty disgusted with him at the moment”.

Lowe has however indicated his opposition to the possibility of asylum seekers being housed in the area. On 03 September he took to X.com to state: “I am considering organising a protest to underline our community’s opposition to any potential housing of illegal migrants in our area. This would be a peaceful statement to anybody looking to force illegals into our constituency. They are not welcome and will be met with peaceful and lawful resistance at every turn”.

Rupert Lowe did not respond to questions from Byline Times.

Before the festival had been cancelled, multiple residents expressed dismay on the Great Yarmouth Borough Council Facebook page, with one writing “you need to make a very rapid decision and cancel this monstrous event. The harm this will cause to Great Yarmouth is immeasurable”.

Great Yarmouth and Waveney pride issued a statement on September 1 that they had developed a “comprehensive safety strategy” in the event that the LGBTQ+ pride was to occur on the same day as the festival.

Although now cancelled, the estimated size of the festival raises serious concerns about the activities of an emboldened far right.

Nick Lowles of Hope Not Hate said: “They’ll try again and when they do, we’ll be ready”.