Ed Sheeran’s concerts at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, have been canceled due to severe weather, adding further complication to a tour embroiled in controversy.
On Friday, Sheeran’s tour promoter, Messina Touring, said: “Due to the severe weather warnings in place in Boston and across New England throughout the weekend and following consultation with local officials, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the Ed Sheeran concerts at Gillette Stadium.”
“The decision was made with the safety of fans, staff and everyone involved in the shows as the top priority,” Messina Touring added.
Sheeran had been scheduled to perform at the ۶۴,۶۲۸-seat arena on Friday and Saturday as part of his Loop tour.
The cancellations come after weeks of controversy surrounding the tour, after efforts by the stadium’s billionaire owner, Robert Kraft, to rally other stadium owners and pressure Sheeran to remove Macklemore from his tour’s opening acts after the rapper called for a “free Palestine” at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Macklemore’s comments, including, “‘Free Palestine!’ I want those words to be loud and clear, so that people all the way in Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten about them,” drew the ire of pro-Israel organizations, which accused the singer of “ambushing” fans with “anti-Israel propaganda”. The backlash prompted Kraft – the owner of the New England Patriots and a major donor to Israel – to pressure Sheeran to remove Macklemore from the tour.
Macklemore is an avid supporter of Palestinian rights and has frequently condemned Israel’s deadly war across Gaza, which has forcibly displaced ۲ million survivors since ۲۰۲۳ while killing at least an estimated ۷۴,۰۰۰ Palestinians.
Following Macklemore’s removal from Sheeran’s Loop tour, both Sheeran and Kraft faced widespread public backlash. Sheeran subsequently issued a statement saying: “Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine. Macklemore’s contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me.”
Sheeran added that he would “never … abandon the touring crew and the other support acts and musicians who rely on me for work and to make a living.”
The supporting acts, including four openers and Sheeran’s live band, withdrew from the tour in solidarity with Macklemore shortly afterward.
The Irish band Beoga, which performed as Sheeran’s backing band, said it opposed the “silencing of Macklemore by Zionist lobbies”. Aaron Rowe, an Irish singer who was scheduled to perform on the ۱۰ remaining tour dates in North America, said: “As Irish people, we know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation. I cannot stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up against Israeli genocide and who highlight the savage murder of children.”
American singer Finneas also voiced support for Macklemore, saying: “Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed. I have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran. I stand with Palestine and its people.”
Danish pop band Lukas Graham also pulled out, saying: “Money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation. Nobody’s bank balance should decide who gets to speak or which suffering we’re allowed to acknowledge.”
Macklemore subsequently announced that he would donate the $۱m salary he earned from Sheeran’s tour to organizations supporting relief efforts across Gaza and invited Kraft to match his donation.
In response, Kraft issued a statement saying that Sheeran had “called me and asked me to commit $۲m to match his donation to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis”, without specifying which groups would receive any donated money.
Macklemore has also since announced his own “Free Palestine” tour, with three dates scheduled next month in Dublin, Paris and London, with “all proceeds benefiting organizations supporting Palestine and the Palestinian movement”.
