After being removed from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour, Macklemore has announced that he will return to the stage for his “Free Palestine” tour, with all proceeds to benefit Palestinian aid organizations.
The rapper’s doing dates across Europe and the US starting October 26 in Dublin, with stops in Paris on October 29 and London on October 30, while American dates are still being finalized. This all happened after he was removed from Ed Sheeran’s tour for saying “Free Palestine” at MetLife Stadium on September 4 and 5. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft orchestrated the whole removal by rallying other NFL owners, including David Tepper, Arthur Blank, and Jeffrey Lurie, to pressure the tour organizers. These guys basically coordinated a ban against Macklemore for his political stance on Palestine. The pressure campaign worked, and he got kicked off the tour almost immediately after his statements. Multiple opening acts also quit the tour in solidarity with Macklemore’s removal, showing that plenty of artists weren’t cool with what happened. The situation became a real mess for everyone involved. Ed Sheeran faced serious backlash and ended up apologizing in Philadelphia on September 19 about how the whole thing went down.
The Thrift Shop rapper took to Instagram on Thursday to announce the tour, writing:
According to a press release from Live Nation, the shows will benefit several Palestinian aid organizations, including Anera, Glia, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Taawon, HEAL Palestine, Palestinian Youth Movement, Middle East Children’s Alliance, Jewish Voice for Peace, Medical Aid for Palestinians. Institute for Middle East Understanding, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and a UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA USA.
The run will begin with three dates next month in Europe. It kicks off at Dublin’s 3Arena on Oct. 26, followed by Paris’ Accor Arena on Oct. 29 and London’s OVO Arena Wembley on Oct. 30.