British singer, Ed Sheeran, is set to return to the stage on Saturday for his first performance since several artists withdrew from his tour in solidarity with rapper Macklemore, who was dropped after making pro-Palestinian comments during a concert.
Sheeran is scheduled to perform at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, although it remains unclear how the concert will be staged following the departure of his opening acts and supporting performers.
The singer has performed much of his Loop Tour alone, but Irish folk band Beoga had joined him for several songs at each stop.
Macklemore, who was originally scheduled as Sheeran’s US opener, was replaced by Danish band Lukas Graham and Irish singer Aaron Rowe before both acts withdrew from the tour.
Finneas, the brother and musical collaborator of Billie Eilish, was also scheduled to join Sheeran’s tour in South America later this year but pulled out earlier in the week.
As of Friday, Sheeran had not announced replacement acts, while tickets for Saturday’s concert remained available.
A coalition of pro-Palestinian organisations is also planning a protest outside the venue ahead of the show.
The controversy began after Macklemore said “Free Palestine” during a September 5 performance in New Jersey.
Sheeran later said he was not responsible for the decision to remove the rapper, which followed pressure from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
Within hours of Sheeran’s statement on Tuesday, the other supporting acts announced their withdrawals.
Macklemore subsequently said he would donate $1m to Palestinian relief efforts and challenged Kraft to match the donation.
A spokesperson for Kraft said the billionaire and Sheeran had each agreed to donate $2m, although details about where the money would be directed had not been disclosed.
Sheeran has said the tour promoter was ultimately responsible for dropping Macklemore.
He also said he “spoke with the venues at length all week to try to build a bridge” before the rapper was removed from the tour.
The Grammy winner said he would not be drawn into discussions about the war in Gaza, arguing that his fans do not attend his concerts to hear about such issues.
He also insisted that he would never willingly let down his fans or abandon his touring crew and others who depend on the tour for their livelihoods.
The Loop Tour was the world’s highest-grossing tour, according to Pollstar, averaging more than $7m in box-office revenue per city. Through the end of 2025, Sheeran was ranked the No. 3 top-earning concert act since 2021.
