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<\/a><\/p>\nPublished On 19 Sep 202619 Sep 2026<\/p>\n
Ed Sheeran<\/a> is expected to return to the stage for the first time since the expulsion of Macklemore from his United States tour due to the rapper\u2019s comments on stage in support of Palestine.<\/p>\n The decision provoked a backlash and prompted the rest of Sheeran\u2019s opening acts to pull out<\/a>.<\/p>\n Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n Sheeran is scheduled to perform on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. He may sing alone since the other opening acts dropped out in support of Macklemore and Gaza.<\/p>\n Finneas, the brother and collaborator of popular artist Billie Eilish, was originally scheduled to perform with Sheeran in some cities, but dropped out earlier this week. Danish band Lukas Graham and Irish singer Aaron Rowe were also supposed to open at various points on Sheeran\u2019s global tour, but they also announced they would not perform.<\/p>\n Palestinian advocacy groups have called for a boycott of the tour, saying Sheeran is complicit in an effort to stifle criticism<\/a> of Israel over its genocidal war in Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cWe now extend our call for boycotting Ed Sheeran\u2019s entire world tour, including the upcoming Latin American dates and the as-yet-unannounced European leg,\u201d said the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) in a statement.<\/p>\n A pro-Palestinian rally is scheduled near the concert venue before the show on Saturday.<\/p>\n Artists in Gaza painted a mural of Macklemore in a Palestinian flag in the rubble of Gaza City to show their support. Despite a ceasefire agreement, Israel continues to kill Palestinians in frequent strikes<\/a> across Gaza, where many remain displaced and live without access to basic services.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you for using your voice for Palestine,\u201d it reads.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to send a message to thank rapper Macklemore in this simple way,\u201d Anne Redwan, who designed and painted the mural with fellow artist Qusai al-Helo, told the Reuters news agency.<\/p>\n \u201cAs an artist living under siege here in Gaza, we are waiting for support from anyone who can see (the) persecution we live under,\u201d added the 26-year-old. \u201cWe can paint murals bigger than this to express our feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n Macklemore was dropped from Sheeran\u2019s tour after saying \u201cfree Palestine\u201d during a show in New Jersey on September 5 . The influential pro-Israel billionaire Robert Kraft<\/a>, whose company owns a stadium where Sheeran was scheduled to play, pushed for the rapper to be dropped in response.<\/p>\n But the effort backfired, underscoring the shifting dynamics<\/a> around support for Palestine in the US, where support for Israel was once largely unquestioned and reliably bipartisan.<\/p>\n