Ed Sheeran opens solo concert with comments about Gaza, says what’s happening is ‘catastrophic and unjustifiable’

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ed Sheeran opens solo concert with comments about Gaza, says what’s happening is ‘catastrophic and unjustifiable.’ Source Ed Sheeran opened a solo concert in Philadelphia on Saturday with comments about Gaza, saying what's happening is "catastrophic and unjustifiable." PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ed Sheeran opened a solo concert Saturday with comments about Gaza after controversy swirled around his tour as supporting acts withdrew in solidarity with opener Macklemore, who was dropped after making pro-Palestinian comments onstage.Sheeran said he wants his music and shows to be about unity and humanity, not politics.

He said the attacks in Israel of Oct. 7, 2023, were horrific and he considers what is happening in Gaza now to be “catastrophic and unjustifiable.”“My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians’ lives, of children’s lives,” Sheeran said during his performance before the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.Sheeran has performed much of his Loop Tour concerts solo, but he had been joined for several songs at each stop by the Irish folk band Beoga. Macklemore, Sheeran’s original U.S.

opener, had been replaced by Danish band Lukas Graham and Irish singer Aaron Rowe before they backed out.Finneas, Billie Eilish’s brother and musical collaborator, was due to tour with Sheeran in South America later this year before he too dropped out earlier this week.Before the show, a small group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators congregated outside the stadium. Hillary Steinberg, 34, of Philadelphia, said she got tickets a year ago but wound up getting a refund and attended the demonstration instead, disappointed that Sheeran did not take a stand.“I was, until this week, a big Ed Sheeran fan,” Steinberg said. “I think all art is political, and all music is political, and so this choice — even though he was saying that he wasn’t complicit — is a political choice.”The show came after a tumultuous week that opened with Macklemore being dropped in response to exclaiming “Free Palestine” during a Sept.

Sheeran has said he was not responsible for the decision, which came at the urging of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. His company owns a stadium where Sheeran’s tour was scheduled to play on Friday.Within hours of Sheeran's statement Tuesday, his supporting acts withdrew.On Saturday, Diane Savitz, a 53-year-old concertgoer from Stroudsburg, said she is a big Sheeran fan, does not think he did anything wrong and a show is not the place for politics.“A concert should be for people enjoying the music. Music should bring people together,” Savitz said.

“My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians’ lives, of children’s lives,” the British singer-songwriter said during his Philadelphia gig. Ed Sheeran has opened a solo concert in Philadelphia with comments about Gaza, saying what's happening is "catastrophic and unjustifiable." PHILADELPHIA: Ed Sheeran opened a solo concert in Philadelphia on Saturday with comments about Gaza, saying what’s happening is “catastrophic and unjustifiable.” “My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians’ lives, of children’s lives,” Sheeran said in the night at Lincoln Financial Field.

Sheeran also said he wants his music and shows to be about unity and humanity, not politics. He then addressed the controversy that unfolded since his supporting acts withdre