Grammy winner Lorde has formally canceled her upcoming concert scheduled for Tel Aviv on June 5 after caving to anti-Israel activists and fans.
“We regret to announce the cancelation of the Lorde concert in Israel planned for June,” the show’s organizers told Israeli media outlet YNET (via New Zealand Media and Entertainment). “The tickets already bought will be reimbursed within 14 business days. As to the circumstances that led to the cancellation of the show, Lorde is expected to publish a statement via Twitter soon.”
The singer released the following statement:
hey guys, so about this israel show – i’ve received an overwhelming number of messages & letters and have had a lot of discussions with people holding many views, and i think the right decision at this time is to cancel the show. i pride myself on being an informed young citizen, and i had done a lot of reading and sought a lot of opinions before deciding to book a show in tel aviv, but I’m not too proud to admit i didn’t make the right call on this one. tel aviv, it’s been a dream of mine to visit this beautiful part of the world for many years, and i’m truly sorry to reverse my commitment to come play for you. i hope one day we can all dance. L x
Israeli Culture Minister Miri Regev hoped Lorde would reverse her decision. “Lorde, I’m hoping you can be a ‘pure heroine,’ like the title of your first album, be a heroine of pure culture, free from any foreign — and ridiculous — political considerations,” she said.
Lorde announced her 2018 “Melodrama” world tour back in June. A performance was scheduled for the Tel Aviv Convention Centre on June 5, 2018 at 7 p.m. Activists Nadia Abu-Shanab (Palestinian) and Justine Sachs (Jewish) wrote a joint letter to Lorde that called for her to cancel her Israel concert stop in protest of the country’s treatment of Palestinians.