As well as our fantastic team of volunteers, the festival hears about our campaign through our slot on the main stage of the festival, the Pyramid Stage.
CND campaigner Sara Medi Jones recalls the impact these speeches can have: “It was 2016 and the morning after the Brexit referendum. The rain was pouring down, tents were submerged in pools of water and there was a strange, dejected mood across the festival, so unlike the usual atmosphere. The SNP member of Parliament Mhairi Black was due to give a speech on behalf of CND. As grime artist Skepta finished playing, I turned to Mhairi and said ‘Good luck, I think you’re going to need it with this crowd’. But as Mhairi started speaking about the need to get rid of nuclear weapons and spend the money on public services, you could feel the crowd perk up and a roar of support went up for the Stop Trident message. We signed up a record number of new supporters that day.”
Over the years, we have had so many fantastic speakers on our behalf, including CND Vice-President Bruce Kent, Green MP Caroline Lucas, comedian Marcus Brigstocke, as well as some (very brave!) staff members. In 2023, Beans on Toast gave a rousing speech about the need to prioritise wages over weapons – causing even the crew working hard on stage to stop, listen, and applaud!
