Macklemore opens Free Palestine tour in Dublin after Sheeran fallout

Macklemore has opened his Free Palestine tour in Dublin, turning the fallout from his removal from Ed Sheeran’s concert lineup into a series of fundraising performances. The American rapper says proceeds will go to organisations supporting Palestinians.

The opening concert at the city’s 3Arena sold out, according to BBC reporting, with Hozier, Kneecap and Beoga among the performers. Fans queued outside hours before the doors opened, some carrying Palestinian and Irish flags or wearing keffiyeh scarves.

The new tour was announced in September after Macklemore lost his place on the remaining US dates of Sheeran’s Loop Tour. His departure followed pro-Palestinian statements during performances at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, bringing a dispute over political expression into the organisation of a major concert tour.

Sheeran has said the decision to remove Macklemore was made by concert promoter Messina Touring Group, rather than by him. According to RTÉ’s reporting, the promoter said venues hosting forthcoming dates had informed it that concerts featuring the rapper would not be allowed to proceed.

The fallout extended beyond Macklemore’s own appearances. Aaron Rowe, Beoga, Finneas and Lukas Graham subsequently withdrew from Sheeran’s upcoming shows in solidarity, making the disagreement a wider rupture involving several artists associated with the tour.

When announcing his own concerts, Macklemore said he had been contacting musicians who had publicly supported Palestinians. He also acknowledged that arrangements were coming together quickly, with conversations about participating artists, schedules and other details still under way at that stage, RTÉ reported.

The fundraising pledge gives the new performances a purpose beyond replacing cancelled appearances. Organisers said proceeds would support humanitarian, medical and other assistance for Palestinians, while Macklemore separately pledged $1 million in net earnings from his work on Sheeran’s tour to organisations supporting them.

Sheeran later addressed the controversy during a concert in Philadelphia, acknowledging mistakes in his handling of the fallout. He described the situation in Gaza as catastrophic, unjustifiable and disproportionate, according to RTÉ, after facing criticism over Macklemore’s removal and the subsequent departures from his lineup.

The initial Free Palestine itinerary linked Dublin with two further European arena dates. The Irish Times reported that the opening show was scheduled for October 26, followed by Paris’s Accor Arena on October 29 and London’s Wembley Arena on October 30, establishing a short run across three capitals.

Paris and London are the next announced stops following the Dublin opening. At the tour’s launch announcement, organisers said additional dates, including US performances, would be revealed in the coming weeks, leaving the eventual scale of the fundraising run dependent on further scheduling and artist announcements.