BRITISH POP STAR Ed Sheeran will return to the stage this evening in the US for the first time since his \u2018Loop\u2019 tour was thrown into chaos after rapper Macklemore was cancelled as a support act for making pro-Palestine comments on stage.<\/p>\n
The singer could be appearing on stage at Philadelphia\u2019s Lincoln Financial Field alone as all his support acts have quit the tour, including a number of Irish musicians in the folk band Beoga who accompanied the star on stage for hits like the song \u2018Galway Girl\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Irish singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe and FINNEAS, Billie Eilish\u2019s brother, are also amongst the acts who have said they won\u2019t participate in the tour going forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Friday night\u2019s Late Late Show The Script frontman Danny O\u2019Donoghue offered Rowe a slot supporting him at the 3Arena for one of the nights he was supposed to perform in Tampa with Sheeran, after praising him for walking away from the tour at an early stage in his career.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There are still tickets available for tonight\u2019s show online, with prices starting at as low as $54.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The price of the cheapest tickets had fallen from $123 on Monday to $67 by Friday afternoon, and prices have fallen further today.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Protesters are expected to have a large presence outside the concert venue in Philadelphia on Saturday night.<\/p>\n
A rally is to be held by Pro-Palestinian groups nearby the venue before the concert.\u00a0<\/p>\n
City Police have said that there will be an \u201cappropriate police presence\u201d to help ensure the safety of concertgoers and neighbourhood residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During Macklemore\u2019s first performance on Sheeran\u2019s tour on 4 September, he performed his 2024 protest song Hind\u2019s Hall while footage from Gaza and the occupied West Bank appeared on screens around the stadium.<\/p>\n