The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s performance at London’s BBC Proms was interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters on Friday night.

Photo © Mingyang Liu/Pexels

Activist group Jewish Artists for Palestine held up the MSO’s performance at the Royal Albert Hall for more than 10 minutes, objecting to the orchestra’s “Zionist funding, censorship and complicity in our cultural institutions”.

Protesters held up fabric signs reading “complicit in genocide” and “Jewish Artists for Palestine”.

“The MSO has blood on its hands; you silenced Jayson Gillham,” yelled a protester in a video posted by taltakingpics on Instagram. “The MSO is complicit [in genocide], you silence artists.”

The performance was being broadcast by BBC Radio 3, which broke to prerecorded works while the protest was happening. The MSO restarted its performance after the protestors were removed.

“We are proud of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for the resilience and professionalism demonstrated in its performance in London,” said an MSO spokesperson.

“The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra was making its first visit to the BBC Proms under Chief Conductor Jaime Martín with a sold-out performance at Royal Albert Hall. The London performance was the culmination of the MSO’s successful tour of Europe....