Ed Sheeran's next concert at Kraft's stadium in jeopardy: Refunds, protests and now a storm

Ed Sheeran's two concerts at Gillette Stadium were already the most scrutinised dates of his tour. Now the weather may decide whether they happen at all.

The shows, scheduled for Friday and Saturday nights in Foxborough, Massachusetts, are in doubt as a nor'easter bears down on New England.

TMZ reported that stage construction was paused on Thursday evening, citing sources involved in production. The stage had been partially assembled that morning before crews were told to stop, while a decision was taken on whether to begin dismantling it. Another stadium source told the outlet everything was ready except lighting, which was still being tested on Thursday night in case Friday's show goes ahead.

No final call had been made at the time of reporting, and it is not clear whether the shows would be rescheduled if cancelled.

The forecast is for heavy winds and several inches of rain, upwards of 75mm, beginning on Friday night. Gillette Stadium is open air.

The refunds fight

The weather arrives on top of a consumer dispute that has already drawn in the state's top law officer.

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced on Thursday that Ticketmaster will allow refunds for both shows, after her office intervened on behalf of fans. Those complaints had nothing to do with the storm. They came from ticket holders unhappy that Macklemore and the tour's other opening acts are no longer performing.

"After hearing from nearly 200 consumers who were struggling to obtain refunds from Ticketmaster for Ed Sheeran's shows at Gillette Stadium this weekend, my office jumped into action to demand that consumers be provided a clear path to get their money back if they no longer want to attend due to significant changes to the lineup," Campbell said.

Her office wrote to Ticketmaster demanding an exception to the policy that normally allows artists to change opening acts without triggering refunds, arguing that replacing nearly all the acts amounted to a dramatic change in service. The letter cited the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act.

Refund requests must be made at least 24 hours before showtime, by calling Ticketmaster or through its website.

A protest was already planned

Massachusetts Peace Action, an advocacy group focused on the Israel-Palestine conflict, had planned to protest outside the second night of the Gillette run.

Gillette Stadium is owned by Robert Kraft, whose objection to Macklemore performing there was central to the rapper's removal from the tour. Kraft cited what he described as a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery, alongside material shared from the stage in New Jersey.

Macklemore has said Kraft's position left Sheeran, whom he called a friend, in a difficult spot.

Sheeran is performing alone

Whatever happens this weekend, the shows would look very different from the ones fans bought tickets for.

After Macklemore was dropped, Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga all left the tour in solidarity, leaving Sheeran without support acts or his backing band.

At Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia last Saturday, his first date since the row, he performed largely alone with his guitar and loop pedal, opening the night with an emotional address to the crowd in which he apologised for making mistakes and spoke about Gaza.

The timing of this week's disruption is its own coincidence. It comes hours after Macklemore announced his own Free Palestine Tour, with shows in Dublin, Paris and London next month, and criticised both Sheeran and Kraft in the announcement.

For anyone following from the UAE, Foxborough is eight hours behind Dubai, so any decision on Friday's show would land here in the early hours of Saturday.