Ed Sheeran braces protests at concert amid Macklemore row

Pro-Palestine protests are expected outside Ed Sheeran’s concert on Saturday, his first show since his support acts quit in a row about the Gaza war. Demonstrators are expected to congregate near Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia after Macklemore was dropped from Sheeran’s US tour for chanting “free Palestine” onstage in New Jersey this month. City police said there would be an “appropriate police presence” to “help ensure the safety of concertgoers, employees and neighbourhood residents”. Sheeran has denied being behind the decision to remove Macklemore after the owners of stadiums hosting forthcoming shows objected to the rapper’s presence in the line-up. Four other supporting acts quit the tour in solidarity with Macklemore and the Palestinian cause. They included Sheeran’s backing band as well as Finneas, the singer known for collaborating with his Grammy-winning sister Billie Eilish. No new opening acts or backing bands have been announced. The rally is scheduled to take place in the afternoon. Tickets for the show have changed hands on the resale market at a slightly brisker pace since Monday than for previous dates on the tour, according to tracking site TicketData. “Some share of the audience isn’t tuned in to anything political, or is completely indifferent to it, and has only just now become aware that Ed Sheeran is even playing their city. They’re buying tickets with zero connection to the controversy,” Keith Pagello, the site founder, said. The price of the cheapest tickets had fallen from $123 on Monday to $54 by Saturday morning. Mr Pagello said the decline was not necessarily linked to the row, as it is common for ticket prices to drop as the date of a concert approaches. While a growing number of artists have spoken out against the conflict in Gaza and West Bank settler violence, Sheeran has maintained a apolitical stance. “I am not complicit,” the 35-year-old British performer said on Instagram on Tuesday. “I have my personal views on this devastating conflict. Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t have them, and it doesn’t mean I don’t care.” However, he said: “Those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum.”