Swastika pendant removed from Newtown Festival stall after backlash

The swastika pendant on display at a stall at Wellington's Newtown Festival. Photo / Supplied / Niamh Brown

• A swastika pendant was removed from Wellington’s Newtown Festival after backlash from attendees and stallholders.
• Festival co-director Martin Hanley said the pendant was inappropriate and caused distress and anger.
• Hanley used the incident as a learning opportunity, emphasising the festival’s focus on inclusivity and tolerance.

By Kate Green of RNZ

A swastika pendant was removed from a stall at Wellington’s Newtown Festival over the weekend, with the organisers saying it goes against the kaupapa of the festival.

Festival co-director Martin Hanley said after backlash from the crowd, nearby stallholders and people online, the vendor was asked to take the piece of jewellery off display.

The swastika was adopted as a symbol of the German Nazi Party in the 1930s, and although iterations have been used at different times by other cultures to have different meanings, it is widely recognised today as a symbol for racial hatred.

Hanley said he was tipped off by a former marshal, who had worked on the festival since 2011, and was taking her first year off.

She sent him a text from Christchurch, after seeing a post on social media calling out the stallholder for displaying the piece of jewellery was garnering hundreds of comments.

Hanley said simultaneously, surrounding stallholders were also asking the vendor to remove the item, and one of the event’s head marshals approached the stallholder in question.

“She got there before me and just explained that this is inappropriate, and it’s creating distress and anger amongst the crowd, and please could you de-escalate that and put it away?” he said.

There was resistance initially, Hanley said, but the stallholder did agree to remove the pendant, and it was gone by the time he got there.

He said it turned into a learning opportunity.

“I spent a bit of time talking to them about the kaupapa of Newtown Festival, which is all about inclusivity and tolerance and goodwill to other people, and did they really understand what that symbol stood for?” Hanley explained.

“I think they learned something, actually.”

Wellington City Council, which provides funding to the festival, said all funding recipients were required to adhere to the council’s terms and conditions, which would not allow for any offensive activity or content.

Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.