Ed Sheeran’s Gillette Stadium concerts scheduled for Friday, September 25, and Saturday, September 26, have been cancelled because of severe weather concerns. The 35-year-old singer-songwriter had been due to perform at the Foxborough, Massachusetts, venue this weekend, following weeks of controversy over his support lineup.
A representative for Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and the Kraft Group, confirmed the decision to TMZ. Refunds are now available, while fans who bought tickets through Ticketmaster will receive their money automatically.
After weeks of argument about who would appear on stage, there will now be no stage show at all.
Why were the concerts cancelled?
Stadium officials, tour management and public safety teams had monitored the forecast throughout the week. Heavy rain and winds of up to 40mph were expected in Foxborough, according to Fox Weather.
Earlier in the week, Gillette Stadium reportedly paused construction of the concert stage as the forecast worsened. On September 25, organisers abandoned both dates.
“Due to the severe weather forecast throughout the weekend, the tour has made the difficult decision to cancel the Ed Sheeran concerts at Gillette Stadium,” Kraft’s representative said.
“The decision was made with the safety of fans, staff and everyone involved in the shows as the top priority.”
The announcement said refunds were available from the original point of purchase. Ticketmaster customers would not need to submit a separate request.
Why had Macklemore been removed from the lineup?
The cancellations are the latest development in a troubled run-up to Sheeran’s two Massachusetts shows. Rapper Macklemore had been booked as a support act on the Loop Tour but was removed after making pro-Palestinian comments and presenting material on stage during earlier performances in New Jersey.
Macklemore later claimed Kraft had contacted Sheeran and refused to allow him to perform at Gillette Stadium.
“Ed told me that Robert Kraft called him,” Macklemore said in a statement. “Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium.”
The rapper also alleged that Kraft had contacted other stadium owners and that they collectively gave Sheeran an ultimatum: remove Macklemore from the tour or lose access to their venues.
Kraft disputed the wider framing of the decision, saying Gillette Stadium had a responsibility to prevent what he described as hate speech. He cited Macklemore’s recent conduct, material shown during the New Jersey dates and what the Kraft Group considered “a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery.”
What did Robert Kraft say about the dispute?
In a statement explaining the ban, Kraft said Gillette Stadium aimed to provide a welcoming environment for all visitors.
“We determined that his participation in the September 25th and 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line,” the statement said.
Kraft added that the decision was not intended to dismiss Palestinian suffering or prevent people from advocating for Palestinians.
“Their pain and loss are real,” he said. “But that advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas.”
The statement described Hamas as a designated terrorist organisation in the United States, Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Japan, and said its actions had caused suffering for both Palestinians and Israelis.
Sheeran was still expected to play the two dates without the removed support acts until the weather intervention. The storm has now settled the immediate scheduling question more decisively than the venue dispute managed to.
