Image: Tom Jackson
British indie icons Pulp will return to the Adelaide Festival stage this February, confirming they will honour their invitation to perform a free concert on 27 February following a dramatic boycott and subsequent reversal by festival organisers.
The band had initially withdrawn from the festival in protest after the Adelaide Festival board cancelled the scheduled appearance of writer Randa Abdel-Fattah at Adelaide Writers’ Week. The decision sparked widespread backlash and a boycott from authors, artists and performers, placing the festival under intense public scrutiny.
In a statement released overnight, Pulp said they were “appalled to hear of the circumstances in which the Adelaide Festival board had cancelled the scheduled appearance of Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah” and made it clear they “refuse to condone the silencing of voices”.
“We celebrate difference, and oppose censorship, violence and oppression in all its forms,” the band said.
Pulp confirmed their management had been in dialogue with Adelaide Festival organisers since the situation first became public. After informing the festival they intended to withdraw in support of the boycott, the band said they were asked to delay announcing their decision while organisers worked to resolve the issue.
“It is our understanding that the festival programmers are now acting in good faith,” the statement continued. “The festival board that made this dreadful decision have been replaced, and a full apology has been accepted by Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, who has been invited to appear next year.”
With those changes in place, Pulp said they felt able to proceed. “Given this new and welcome development we feel able, in good conscience, to honour our invitation to perform in Adelaide on 27 February.”
The performance will go ahead as a free concert, a move the band hopes will create space for unity rather than division. “We hope that our free concert will be an opportunity for different communities to come together in peace and harmony,” the statement said.
Frontman Jarvis Cocker echoed the sentiment on Instagram, describing the initial decision to pull out as a response to a “dreadful situation”, but saying the band was now “prepared to perform at the music festival once more”.
“This will be a free concert, open to anyone who respects the freedom of all voices to be heard,” Cocker wrote. “It will also be fun.”
Dr Abdel-Fattah has publicly accepted the festival’s apology and confirmed she has been invited to appear at Adelaide Writers’ Week in 2027.
Pulp’s return marks a major moment for the 2026 Adelaide Festival, closing a turbulent chapter while reaffirming the power of artists to influence cultural conversations beyond the stage.
Find the full statement from Pulp here.
Find more info on Pulp’s Adelaide concert here.
