Climate change activists from Extinction Rebellion held a protest on the main stage at bluedot Festival during Kate Tempest’s set earlier tonight.

Around a dozen protestors displayed banners and flags with the Extinction Rebellion logo and slogans including “Tell the truth” and “This is not a drill”.

Richard, who was in the crowd at the time, took the pictures above and said: “Extinction Rebellion stormed the stage during Kate Tempest’s glorious set”. The protestors were allowed to remain on stage for Kate Tempest’s newly-released song ‘Holy Elixir’.

The activists left the Lovell Stage peacefully after a few minutes. Extinction Rebellion are part of bluedot’s sustainability programme and are hosting a ‘Rebel, Rebel‘ tent at the festival. Scheduled talks include ‘How Civil Disobedience Works‘.

Kate Tempest previously called on the public to pen ‘Letters to the Earth’ as part a campaign coinciding with April’s ‘International Rebellion’.

The sold-out festival takes place throughout this weekend at Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, dominated by the iconic Lovell radio telescope. The observatory was recently designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kraftwerk and Jon Hopkins are among the other acts on the line-up.

The festival will also host a ‘moonbounce’ this weekend, where audio messages sent by a European radio telescope will be bounced off the moon’s surface and picked up at Jodrell Bank, then played at bluedot.

bluedot have been contacted for comment. The page for the Extinction Rebellion stage on their website says: “We look forward to welcoming Extinction Rebellion to bluedot to explore the current climate crisis that our pale blue dot is facing right now. Climate breakdown and ecological collapse are a direct existential threat to us all. We are already in the 6th mass extinction of life on Earth with 200 species lost every day.”

Extinction Rebellion’s topline demands are given as:

The Government must admit the truth about the ecological emergency, reverse all policies inconsistent with addressing climate change, and work alongside the media to communicate with citizens

The Government must enact legally binding policy measures to reduce carbon emissions to net-zero by 2025 and to reduce consumption levels

A national Citizen’s Assembly must be created, to oversee the changes, as part of creating a democracy fit for purpose.

An Extinction Rebellion representative is scheduled to appear alongside women’s rights activist Helen Pankhurst and Tom Shakespear for a panel talk at the festival titled ‘Protest for Change: Direct Action and Society’.

Earlier today, the Metropolitan Police banned the group from using boats in their protests during the final day of their “summer protests”. Extinction Rebellion have caused non-violent disruption in Leeds, Cardiff, Glasgow, Bristol and London this week to urge the Government to take urgent action addressing the climate emergency.

bluedot’s sustainability initiatives include no single-use plastic across the food traders on site, reusable bottles for all staff and wristbands made entirely from bamboo and recycled plastic. Food waste from the festival will be collected and donated to the local community.

Those buying tickets were able to offset the carbon footprint from their travel at the time of booking with a donation to Energy Revolution, a festival industry collaborative charity.

bluedot also offered festivalgoers the option of travelling via an organised bike ride in collaboration with Red Fox Cycling.

Extinction Rebellion’s pink boat, used in previous London protests, was at Glastonbury last month and was part of the Extinction Procession, pictured below.

The procession took place on the Thursday afternoon of the festival and began at the Park Stage before heading to the Green Fields, where the crowd formed the largest ever human hourglass. The symbol features in the Extinction Rebellion logo.

In the days after Glastonbury, organiser Emily Eavis said 99.3 per cent of tents had been taken home from the festival.

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Image credits:

Activists on stage – Richard (Twitter)

Stage with telescope – Scott Salt / bluedot Festival

Activists on stage from afar – Max (Twitter)

Pink boat – TheFestivals