THE Australian WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, will appear at this year’s Splendour in the Grass music festival in a pre-recorded video on 26 July.
The video message will form an introduction to a debate on trust in the media as part of the sideline program of events at the annual music festival in Byron Bay.
Speaking in the debate are Ten Network boss Russel Howcroft, ABC broadcaster Dominic Knight and the as-yet unmanned NSW WikiLeaks party senate candidate.
Mr Assange is running as a Victorian Senate candidate with his WikiLeaks party at the federal election.
It is a campaign he is currently coordinating from the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where Mr Assange has sought asylum to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning over allegations of sexual assault. Mr Assange denies the claims.
The video appearance is supported by festival organisers, who say this year’s crowds will welcome his address.
“Julian is a fan of Splendour and knows that a lot of young people are very sympathetic to his cause and what he does,” Splendour Forum manager Fay Burstin told AAP on Thursday.
The debate will form part of a number of non-musical events, including a Q&A forum with Greens leader Christine Milne, and panel discussions on various topics featuring artists Ben Lee and Sarah Blasko.