Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour continued as planned in Philadelphia over the weekend but the singer admitted on stage that the events of the last week made him consider cancelling the tour completely.
In a lengthy speech towards the end of his set on Sunday, the singer said: “I really didn’t know whether this tour would be carrying on. I really didn’t know whether I’d even be getting on stage again, whether I even wanted to be an artist at all. In these situations, you really find out who your friends are, and it’s been a weird week. I just feel like it happened very quickly.
"And the whole time, I had so many people telling me to cancel this tour, and so many people coming out of my life that I’ve known for years and years and years just kind of backing away.”
Sheeran admitted he’d had to make adjustments to the production of the show and had had to abandon the B stage he’d usually venture out onto. “I didn’t know if I’d have things thrown at me.... I was afraid of what might happen if I stood in the middle and I will admit that.”
Earlier on in the show, he had addressed the central issue at hand: the ongoing horror in Gaza and the censorship of pro-Palestine voices such as Macklemore’s. “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.
"My concerts have always been a safe space for everyone and that matters hugely to me. Honouring my commitment to my fans is also completely essential to who I am, and that’s why I’m here tonight on my own and continuing my current tour.
"But I am deeply worried about the idea that venues should pre-approve content of performers. This happens in so many places that I perform around the world, but it should never happen in the free world.”
He continued: “I’ve tried in my career not to be a political commentator of any kind... But, this is a humanitarian issue and I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore. What happened in Israel and at the Nova Music Festival on October 7 was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain. What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic, 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 added that he was “speaking to people across the spectrum to work out how to make a contribution that helps victims” because “I do not know enough”.
Sheeran will be glad to have put the past week behind him, but those gigs at the Robert Kraft-owned Gillette Arena in Massachusetts await next weekend...
