‘Flagstock 2024’ party for UNC flag defenders winding down after drawing thousands

A party on Labor Day honored the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill fraternity members who guarded the American flag during a protest against the Israel-Hamas war.

Organizers expected between 2,500 and 3,000 people to attend the event.

“Flagstock 2024” was scheduled for Monday somewhere near Chapel Hill. Organizers didn’t disclose the exact location ahead of the event, citing safety concerns.

“We are going to keep the location on the down low because the last thing we want is for some kind of massive protest,” said country singer John Rich, who is helping organize the event.

Event organizers said they distributed distributed between 6,000 and 7,000 tickets. The tickets were provided to the 10 fraternities who were identified as having members standing around the American flag at a pro-Palestinian protest on campus on April 30. Members of UNC Greek Life, ROTC, police and veterans are expected to attend as special guests.

Rich, who performs in the band Big and Rich, along with Lee Greenwood, Aaron Lewis, Five For Fighting and Cowboy Troy performed at the event.

“None of the artists are receiving any compensation for this whatsoever,” Rich said.

A GoFundMe helped raise $515,517 for the event. Organizers have promised to donate any leftover money to charities but did not have a breakdown of how much money will be donated.

Some students told WRAL News that opinions of the festival were split on campus in the days leading up to the event.

“A lot of people are really in favor of it; a lot of people [are] really against it,” UNC student Matt Broderick said. “I’ve heard that some fraternities and some sororities have told their people, ‘Hey, please don’t come to this, this might be a bad look for us,’ or, ‘Please come to this, it’ll be a good look for us,'”

UNC’s Zeta Beta Tau President Jason Calderon was in the midst of the clashes this spring on campus. He said he’s been overwhelmed by the support of the party.

“We felt that what was happening that day was a patriotic thing, and that should go over any polarization,” Calderon said.

Event organizers said there are no future plans to hold another Flagstock event.

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