UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory Francesca Albanese announced Monday that she is withdrawing from the Hay Festival in protest of the event’s partnership with the U.S. company Airbnb.
Albanese said in a post on X that Airbnb profits from listing properties in illegal Israeli colonies built on stolen Palestinian land, describing the practice as part of an economic system that supports occupation, annexation, and forced displacement.
She added that, “In light of the Hay Festival’s partnership with Airbnb, Professor Eyal Weizman and I are withdrawing from the event.”
To the people who are writing to me inquiring about my choice:
look at this, just ongoing – documented by the @JVActivists:https://t.co/2nD35gZMa2
Property on this land, stolen today, may one day be advertised on @Airbnb, and HayFestival seems to have no problem with it. https://t.co/F94vfzDsg9— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) May 25, 2026
This year’s edition of the Hay Festival is being held in Hay on Wye, Wales, from May 21 to 31, and is considered one of the world’s leading literary and cultural gatherings.
Airbnb has faced international criticism for years over its listings in Israeli colonies in the occupied West Bank.
In 2018, the company announced it would remove such listings following global pressure but later reversed the decision after legal challenges in Israel.
Human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have repeatedly stated that profiting from rentals in illegal colonies contributes to violations of international law.
UN Special Rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor and report on specific human rights situations. Their mandates are unpaid and independent of any government, allowing them to publicly criticize policies that violate international law.
Over the past decade, several prominent cultural figures and academics have withdrawn from international festivals, exhibitions, and conferences in protest of partnerships with companies linked to Israeli settlement activity.
These actions reflect a broader global movement urging cultural institutions to avoid associations that may legitimize or financially benefit illegal Israeli colonies.
