Ed Sheeran’s concerts at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts have been cancelled because of severe weather warnings, dealing a further setback to the singer’s embattled US Loop tour.
The Friday and Saturday performances were called off as a storm approached New England. Tour promoter Messina Touring said the decision followed consultation with local officials and was made to protect fans, staff and everyone involved in the shows.
“Due to the severe weather warnings in place in Boston and New England throughout the weekend … we have made the difficult decision to cancel the Ed Sheeran concerts at Gillette Stadium,” the promoter said.
Ticket holders will be refunded, according to the statement.
The cancellations come after controversy surrounding the removal of Macklemore from the tour. The American rapper led “Free Palestine” chants during Sheeran concerts in New Jersey earlier this month, prompting Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of Gillette Stadium, to demand that he be dropped.
Several other acts, including Irish folk band Beoga and Finneas, Billie Eilish’s brother, subsequently withdrew from the US tour in solidarity with Macklemore.
Sheeran became tearful during a performance in Philadelphia last weekend, telling the audience that his family and friends had “abandoned” him amid the dispute. He also apologised for “making mistakes” in how he handled the situation.
“I don’t want to disappoint fans, and I’ve never wanted to be an activist musician,” he said, adding that the dispute had placed him in the middle of an argument about freedom of speech and the Israel-Hamas war.
Sheeran said the Hamas attack at the Nova music festival in Israel on October 7 had been “horrific”, while describing the situation in Gaza as “catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate”. He also said the devastation and loss of civilian and children’s lives had broken his heart.
Macklemore has since announced a “Free Palestine” tour, beginning in Dublin on October 26. The Campaign Against Antisemitism has criticised the rapper’s past comments and described his actions as “inflammatory” after it emerged that the OVO Arena Wembley would host one of his performances.
