Allianz to end sponsorship of major Spanish festival under new agreement

Pressure from prominent artists has forced Allianz to step back from sponsoring one of Spain’s best-known cultural gatherings, after a group of celebrities warned they would boycott the event over the insurer’s links to Israel, organisers said today.

In a statement, the celebrities accused the German insurance group of being “today the world’s largest buyer of Israeli state bonds and, therefore, an essential financial backer of the ongoing genocide,” a reference to the Gaza war that began after Hamas’s attacks on Israel in 2023.

The group said it would refuse to attend the annual Festival of Ideas in Madrid unless the organisers pledged “not accepting economic support, in this or future editions, from companies that collaborate with the State of Israel in the destruction of the Palestinian people”.

Allowing such backing, they argued, would mean the festival could not “contribute to the whitewashing of the economic actors which allow extermination, occupation and apartheid to take place”. The statement was signed by more than 20 celebrities, among them Oscar-nominated Spanish director Rodrigo Sorogoyen.

Festival organisers said they had reached an agreement with Allianz to suspend the company’s sponsorship of the event, which is scheduled to run for four days from Thursday and will include an appearance by acclaimed British writer Zadie Smith.

“Both parties agree that the festival should continue to be a space dedicated to the free exchange of ideas, open debate and the diversity of opinions without any external controversy diverting attention from its programme, participants or audience,” the festival said in its statement.

The controversy comes against a backdrop of strong public support in Spain for the Palestinian cause, with Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez among Europe’s most outspoken critics of Israel’s offensive in Gaza.

Last week, Spain joined 12 countries — including Ireland — in announcing sanctions on trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, as settler attacks on Palestinians have been increasing there.

Allianz has also come under scrutiny in Ireland, where some members of the Gaelic Athletic Association have urged the organisation to end the insurer’s sponsorship of its Gaelic football and hurling leagues, a partnership that has lasted more than 30 years.

In February, GAA Congress proceedings were interrupted after protesters entered the hall at Croke Park.

Last month, however, the GAA said it would keep its sponsorship deal with Allianz after the Central Council and the Management Committee “overwhelmingly agreed” to continue the partnership.