Wireless Festival 2018 line up slammed over lack of female artists by Lily Allen and Annie Mac

There are only three female acts on the 2018 lineup
Backlash: Lily Allen has hit out at the festival's lack of diversity
Getty Images
Harry Fletcher26 February 2018

Wireless Festival has been called out for a lack of diversity by prominent figures in the music industry.

The lineup for the London festival was announced on Tuesday, and people have been quick to point out how few female artists are on the bill.

Stormzy, DJ Khaled and J Cole are set to headline the London-based event this July, and Mabel, Lisa Mercedez and Cardi B are the only female artists scheduled to perform.

Lily Allen raised the issue by posting a picture of the festival line-up with all the male performers removed, leaving only three female acts.

The singer added the caption "the struggle is real", adding "Wireless have booked three women over three days of [the] festival."

While the full line-up has yet to be announced, the lack of female acts has caused concern amongst music fans on social media.

DJ Annie Mac responded to Allen's post by saying, "This is appalling. So so so embarrassing," while artist MNEK responded: "This can't be [for real]",

Musician Ray BLK also took to Twitter to reveal that she has been asked to perform at Wireless, but turned down the opportunity.

Wireless is one of the capital's biggest celebrations of urban music, and has been entertaining London's music fans since 2005.

The Evening Standard has reached out to Wireless Festival for comment.

For more information, wirelessfestival.co.uk.

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