Macklemore’s Free Palestine Tour Ends In Paris As Fans Voice Support Online

Final night in support

Macklemore’s Free Palestine tour reached its final night as fans voiced support on social media, after the rapper was expelled from Ed Sheeran’s concerts in the US for voicing support for Palestine. Al Jazeera spoke to fans about why they came to Macklemore’s ‘Free Palestine’ tour, which was organised after he was expelled from Ed Sheeran’s concerts in the US after voicing his support for Palestine. Macklemore brought a roster of artists to the stage in Paris on Thursday night, the second stop on the Free Palestine Tour that launched following his removal from Ed Sheeran’s stadium run for onstage statements in support of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

Macklemore told the sold-out crowd in Paris, “All the artists, all the speakers that have come together with one common goal, which is a free Palestine,” as the crowd roared. Macklemore also declared, “You cannot, you cannot erase a people’s history by ignoring it,” as he spoke during the Paris stop of the tour.

Reporting for this sectionAl JazeeraRolling Stone

Speakers and stage moments

Macklemore invited guest speakers Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, Carice van Houten, and Francesca Albanese to the stage during the Paris show.

Francesca Albanese, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza, told the audience, “To those who shield the powerful and threaten those who refuse silence, I have three words for you: work with us, not against us, and do that for you and for your children,”

Aurora sang “The Seed,” and Macklemore performed Rudimental’s “These Days,” during the Paris night.

Macklemore jumped the barricade separating the stage from the audience during “Can’t Hold Us,” and Rolling Stone said he was temporarily lifted into the air as green and red confetti, colors of the Palestinian flag, blanketed the sold-out crowd.

Macklemore said he has ‘endless love’ for supporters of the Free Palestine tour and quoted his message, “Endless love to every single person who showed up, all the artists who donated their time and made the decision to step up, and everyone who fought so hard over the last five weeks to make it happen.”

Reporting for this sectionRolling StoneLondon Evening Standard

Tour cities and proceeds

Macklmore kicked off the Free Palestine Tour in Dublin on Monday with special guest appearances from Hozier, Kneecap, and Boega, and the Seattle rapper was set to conclude the charity concert series in London on Friday. The London Evening Standard reported that Macklemore announced the concerts last month after being dropped from Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour over comments he made about Gaza, and it said the shows aimed to bring together artists and friends to help provide humanitarian aid and support for people in Palestine. Proceeds from the shows would benefit a collection of organizations supporting the Palestinian movement, including Medical Aid for Palestinians, Palestinian Youth Movement, Heal Palestine, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Jewish Voices for Peace, and the UNRWA USA National Committee.

The Jerusalem Post framed the tour as a controversy around Macklemore’s “Free Palestine” concerts, saying his “Free Palestine” tour plays Dublin on October 26, Paris on October 29, and London on October 30. The Jerusalem Post also claimed that Macklemore libelously accused Israel of “genocide” and “apartheid,” and it said he made those accusations over two nights in early September while opening for Ed Sheeran at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.

Reporting for this sectionRolling StoneThe Jerusalem Post