Misinformation is being spread about Boom Festival. Allegations of connections with the State of Israel, inflated numbers of Israeli artists, or invitations to IDF-linked performers are entirely false. Several pages in Portugal are circulating a wide range of fabricated claims.

1. Independence and Transparency
 

Boom Festival has no ties (past or present) with the state of Israel. The actions of the Israeli leadership have been condemned by the International Criminal Court, the UN, and the majority of the world’s population - and are naturally rejected by a peace-oriented cultural organisation like ours.

Boom Festival has never received, directly or indirectly, funds linked to Israel. Another claim is that we developed technologies with a company / festival from that country. Any such claims are baseless, and defamatory.

Boom is produced by a Portuguese-owned cultural company based in Idanha-a-Nova. It is 100% independent, and free from corporate sponsorship.

2. Festival Programme: Facts vs Fabrications
 

The wave of recent disinformation has circulated false statistics about Boom’s programme too:

• Claim: 42% of all artists at Boom are from Israel, and their fees are being paid by the their Ministry of Culture.
   
• Fact: This is entirely false. As an international and multidisciplinary event, the programme included artists from 45 countries, with just 2.8% from Israel. At no point has Boom ever received support from that state.

The booking process is personal and based on direct dialogue with the artists. Any artist expressing support for war would not be invited to perform. The artists from Israel who were invited are advocates of peace. This was a fundamental requirement for participating at Boom. 

No artist who has publicly supported oppressive policies has been invited, nor will they be in the future.

3. Inclusivity and Legal Framework
 

Boom 2025 had participants from 165 countries.

It is an inclusive gathering that does not discriminate based on gender, sexual orientation, nationality, culture, or religion.

Under Portuguese law, it is illegal to exclude individuals from purchasing event tickets on the basis of their country of origin. Such a measure would constitute xenophobia. 

At the same time, only the Portuguese state has the legal authority to restrict entry into national territory of citizens who, while performing military service, may have taken part in the ongoing situation in Gaza; this is a matter of state jurisdiction — not cultural operators like Boom.

4. Ticket Sales and Current Context
 

In light of the current geopolitical climate, Boom has decided for the 2025 edition not to appoint physical ticket sellers in Israel, Russia, or in any state engaged in acts of aggression. 
 

5. Actions & Clarity
 

No festival is obliged to support humanitarian initiatives, yet Boom has consistently done so. We stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine, while also stressing that not all people of Israel should be confused with the portion that supports their belligerent elite. As human beings, we are more than our cultural identities.

Our efforts have been directed to Oxfam and Médecins Sans Frontières in Gaza. 

Details are available at Peace, Truth and Clarity and Thank You for Your Cashless Support. 
 

6. In Defence of Psytrance
 

Associating psytrance (a movement rooted in love, peace, and freedom) with a single country is a misleading and harmful stereotype. It is, in fact, an attack on an international community that welcomes people of all nations, cultures, religions, sexual orientations, and alternative lifestyles.

Such tactics echo the rhetoric of racist and discriminatory far-right movements, which link immigrants, people of colour, or anyone “different” to crime.

Psytrance emerged from the counterculture of the mid-20th century. With influences from spiritual traditions and a sharp critique of dominant culture, it has for decades provided a space for thousands of people to question the society they live in, to explore their own truth; and, for many, to choose paths away from conformity.

We categorically repudiate any attempt to associate psytrance, and electronic dance music more broadly, or the absurd claim of its “militarisation”, with a regime that violates humanitarian law, simply because some of its citizens are also fans of this music.

Music unites people. Psytrance is, and always has been, a celebration of peace, human connection, and freedom of spirit.
 

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Spreading falsehoods does not build peace; this persecution and fabrication of fake facts  fuels hatred, and division. 

The world is in urgent need of healing.

And healing begins with acknowledging suffering on all sides, rejecting dehumanisation, and choosing love.

Only Love Brings Love