September 21, 2026
Mandi Wright/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Ed Sheeran's first concert since Macklemore was removed from his tour was Saturday in Philadelphia. Above, Sheeran performs in Detroit in April.
Ed Sheeran opened his Lincoln Financial Field concert Saturday night with a tearful apology to tens of thousands of fans as he admitted to making "mistakes" in handling the largest controversy of his largely uncontroversial career.
The Philadelphia show marked the British singer-songwriter's first return to the stage since his opening acts and guest band dropped out of his global Loop Tour citing his venues' censorship of commentary about the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Toward the end of the roughly three-hour set, Sheeran called the lead-up to the Philly show "one of the worst weeks" of his life.
"I'm so, so sorry," Sheeran said. "I don't want to disappoint fans and I've never wanted to be an activist musician, but this has put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet."
The public turmoil began after Sheeran's tour stop at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sept. 5, when opening act Macklemore said "Free Palestine," before he introduced his 2024 protest song "Hind's Hall." Two weeks later, the rapper said on social media that Sheeran and his team had made the decision to remove him from the tour at the behest of Robert Kraft, the owner of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
"Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium," Macklemore wrote on Instagram last week. "Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues."
Sheeran posted a statement to Instagram on Tuesday addressing the decision, saying that its basis was from "how Macklemore conveyed part of his message." The singer added that he intentionally avoids using his platform to take political stances and said his shows are about "unity, joy, escapism, love and a place for everyone to feel welcome."
"I spoke with the venues at length all week to try and build a bridge," he wrote. "One of those people was Robert Kraft. I was also involved in direct talks with promoters along with activists on both sides to try and find a mutual resolution for all, but the venue's and promoter's decision was final."
Later on Tuesday, singer Aaron Rowe, pop group Lukas Graham, singer Finneas and Sheeran's backing band, Boega, announced that they would also withdraw from the tour in solidarity with Macklemore. Rowe and Lukas Graham were scheduled to open for Sheeran during his show in Philadelphia.
Pro-Palestinan groups, including Shut Down D&Z and Philly Palestine Coalition, said they would protest outside the stadium on Saturday in an effort to "return the conversation to Palestine and return Philadelphia to action." Sheeran's team reportedly made an effort to boost the presence of Philadelphia police officers around the stadium, TMZ reported.
"The people of Philadelphia are outraged by the blatant silencing of solidarity with Palestinians — who right now are experiencing genocide — by Zionists and billionaires," Cam Jones, a representative from Shut Down D&Z, said in a statement.
In a statement on Thursday, Kraft said he has supported efforts to "create opportunity for Palestinians" and said that he and Sheeran would donate $4 million to "aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis."
Saturday's concert was originally scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. but was pushed back to 8 p.m. and continued without any opening acts. Sheeran immediately addressed the crowd with an emotional prewritten speech in which he expressed concern about the apparent infringement on artists' speech.
"I am deeply worried about the idea that venues preapprove content and performers," he said. "This happens in so many places that I perform around the world, but it should never happen in the free world."
He also attempted to clarify his stance on the crisis in Gaza, calling the Hamas-led attack on the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7, 2023, "horrific" and the subsequent Israeli military operations that are killing Palestinian civilians as "catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate."
"My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians' lives, of children's lives, and the systemic injustice we're seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked," he said. "I am already speaking to people across the spectrum to work out how to make a contribution that helps victims of these terrible times and listening and learning because I do not know enough."
While addressing the crowd, the singer also said he intentionally removed part of his stage out of precaution because he didn't know if audience members would throw things at him. Toward the end of the night, Sheeran broke down in tear and reemphasized his hope that his concerts will stand as a place of unity and praised the Philadelphia crowd for showing up.
"The last week of my life has been one of the worst weeks of my life," he said. "Today has been one of the weirdest days of my life. Tonight has been, honestly, the best show of my life."
