Margaret Court Arena and the woman whose name it bears have come under fire from all corner of late, following the tennis legend’s unpopular stance against gay marriage, amongst other things.
With their Splendour sideshow wet to take place at the arena, Sigur Rós weren’t happy about the situation, but took the opportunity last week to protest against Court’s beliefs, and Australia’s marriage equality (or lack thereof), by releasing special merch for the show.
But their protest didn’t end there and, as Music Feeds reports, they brought their set to a close with an enormous rainbow projected across the stage, together with the logo for Australian Marriage Equality (to whom the proceeds from the merch sales were being donated).
It was a powerful moment for fans in the arena, who reportedly gave the band a resounding ovation.
“We know Margaret Court’s opinions are not shared by the majority of Australians,” the band had said when they announced the protest merch. “We want to add our voice to the call for marriage equality in Australia — right here on Margaret Court Arena itself.”
It seems they’ve done just that, joining the likes of Grinspoon, who also released their own anti-Margaret Court merch at their recent gig, and LCD Soundsystem, who pushed for a change in the name just the night before.
“I’m not one to get in old people’s faces for being ignorant, but when you come after my family, my friends… you can go fuck yourself,” James Murphy told the crowd.
“This seems like a really nice place to play so let’s have us come back next year, and let’s rename this place.”
With more and more high-profile bands joining the call, we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
