Ed Sheeran’s upcoming concerts at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., have been cancelled due to severe weather warnings in place in Boston and across New England, the venue announced on Friday.
Event organizers cancelled Sheeran’s concerts scheduled for Friday and Saturday night “following consultation with local officials, the promoter and tour,” the venue said in a brief statement.
“The decision was made with the safety of fans, staff and everyone involved in the shows as the top priority,” it said, adding that tickets will be refunded automatically through Ticketmaster.
A multi-day nor’easter is expected to hit the east coast of the U.S. on Friday and is forecast to affect coastal North and South Carolina, Virginia, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Jersey and other eastern states, as well as the Canadian Maritimes.
Boston, New York City and Washington, D.C., residents have also been warned to brace for heavy rains and gusty winds up to 105 kph over the weekend.
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The show cancellations come amid a wave of criticism directed at the Shape of You singer after Macklemore was removed as a supporting act from his tour after he made comments supporting a Palestinian state on stage earlier this month.
All of Sheeran’s remaining support acts pulled out as it came to light that Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft and other venue owners had threatened to cancel shows at their properties if Macklemore was not dismissed for his comments.
Macklemore pointed fingers at Kraft, who also owns the New England Patriots NFL franchise, saying Sheeran had informed him that Kraft and several other venue owners had rallied together to give Sheeran an ultimatum.
“If Macklemore stays on tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues,” he said the owners told Sheeran.
After his removal, Macklemore pledged $1 million in net earnings from the tour to Palestinian aid organizations and encouraged Kraft, who later said he had been approached by Sheeran to match a $2 million donation to the region, to do the same.
In a statement days after Macklemore was removed, Sheeran said he was “not complicit,” and that just because he did not speak publicly on the “devastating conflict,” it did not mean he doesn’t care.
At his concert at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Saturday, Sheeran began by addressing the backlash.
“This is not usually how I would open the show, but before I play some songs tonight, I hope it’s OK if I say a few words about this last week,” he began.
“I’m used to my music being criticized, and I’m always happy to take that because I’m lucky a lot of you like my stuff, and to be honest, I’m surprised. I’m not surprised that other people don’t. It’s normal. But this week, the criticism was about something much more important, and I’ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes, and I’m so so sorry,” he said.
Earlier this week, the musician announced a “Free Palestine” tour with all proceeds to benefit Palestinian aid organizations.
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.
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