Macklemore announces his own Free Palestine tour: 'I didn't need 10 shows from Ed. I needed two'

Dubai: Ten days after being removed from Ed Sheeran's US tour, Macklemore has announced a tour of his own, and named it after the phrase that got him dropped.

The Free Palestine Tour opens in Dublin on 26 October, followed by Paris on 29 October and London on 30 October. All proceeds will go to organisations supporting Palestinians, and further dates, including US shows, are expected.

The rapper, whose real name is Ben Haggerty, announced it on Instagram on Thursday.

"So, as you all know, my schedule freed up a bit," he wrote.

He framed the past fortnight as evidence of a wider change. "If these last couple of weeks have shown us anything, it's that something has shifted over the last three years. There has been a collective awakening around Palestinian liberation, the power of billionaires that try to censor that call, and what we expect from artists right now."

He continued: "It's 2026. Being apolitical during a genocide doesn't work anymore. People are asking artists to show up, educate themselves and be in community."

Describing what happened to him as bigger than one artist or one stage, he said everyone should be paying attention when billionaires hold power over which voices are heard.

"So we're going on tour. FREE PALESTINE TOUR. Dublin. Paris. London. Artist announcements coming soon, as well as US dates," he added. "All proceeds will benefit organizations supporting the Palestinian people and movement."

The three announced shows are at 3Arena in Dublin on 26 October, Accor Arena in Paris on 29 October, and OVO Arena Wembley in London on 30 October.

A presale opens on Monday 28 September at 10am local time, with general sale following on Wednesday 30 September.

Guest performers are promised but not yet named. Live Nation has described the run as bringing Macklemore together with artists and friends for performances centred on Palestine and Palestinians, intended to provide humanitarian aid and support. None of the four acts who left Sheeran's tour has been confirmed for the line-up.

Macklemore said "Free Palestine" and performed his song Hind's Hall while opening for Sheeran at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey earlier this month.

The Israeli-American Council petitioned for his removal. Promoter Messina Touring Group then announced he would not appear on the remaining US dates, saying several venues had refused to host the shows with him on the bill. Sheeran has said the decision was the promoter's, not his, and that he was not complicit.

Macklemore has alleged that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft personally called Sheeran to bar him from Gillette Stadium. Kraft has cited what he described as a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery.

Four support acts, Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga, left the tour in solidarity.

The split has shown up starkly in social media numbers.

According to the analytics firm Social Blade, Sheeran lost 149,636 Instagram followers on 15 September, the day he issued his statement about the removal, and 43,648 the day before, when Macklemore confirmed he had been dropped. By mid-September his losses over a fortnight were put at more than 200,000, with later estimates ranging from 300,000 to close to half a million as the story continued. His count has slipped from around 47.6 million to roughly 47.2 million.

Macklemore has moved the other way. He gained 423,583 followers on 14 September and 757,098 on 15 September, and analysis published a week ago put his total gain at more than two million, taking him past 8.4 million.

The acts who walked also benefited. Finneas gained more than 96,000 followers in the 24 hours after the statement, Beoga more than 86,000, and Aaron Rowe grew his following by 73 per cent to over 132,000.

Other musicians have weighed in. Charlotte Church said on stage that Sheeran had chosen consumerism and capitalism over doing the right thing, while Sting described him as facing a difficult dilemma.

Macklemore has said the two dates he did play were enough.

"I didn't need 10 shows from Ed. I needed two. Two chances to stand in front of 90,000 people and say the words that somehow became too dangerous to say: Free Palestine," he wrote after the fallout.

He has pledged around $1 million, roughly Dh3.67 million, from his earnings on the Sheeran tour to Anera, Gaza Soup Kitchen, HEAL Palestine, Medical Aid for Palestinians, the Palestine Children's Relief Fund and UNRWA USA.

Sheeran returned to the stage in Philadelphia on 19 September, opening with a speech rather than a song.

He apologised to fans for making mistakes and said he could no longer stay silent, calling it a humanitarian issue. He described the 7 October attacks in Israel as horrific, and said what is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and disproportionate.

His Loop Tour continues across North America before heading to Latin America in November.