The key facts

  • Macklemore named nine arenas, including Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center, that declined concerts in support of Palestine
  • According to him, available dates disappeared after operators learned the purpose of the events
  • The European leg of the tour included three sold-out concerts in Dublin, Paris and London

Venue refusals and the artist's accusations

American rapper Macklemore, a Grammy winner, said in a lengthy Instagram post on Friday that nine major US arenas had refused to host concerts from his Free Palestine benefit tour. He named specific venues: Madison Square Garden, Prudential Center, Barclays Center, UBS Arena, Intuit Dome, Kia Forum, Crypto.com Arena, Chase Center and Climate Pledge Arena. Reported by Anadolu.

The timeline according to the artist

According to Macklemore, his team had received available dates through the end of the year from the arenas by mid-September, but those opportunities disappeared once the venue operators learned the concerts were meant to benefit Palestine.

The European leg of the tour and future plans

Macklemore emphasized that he had planned to bring the tour to the US after successful concerts in Dublin, Paris and London: three sold-out shows, he said, drew tens of thousands of people and more than 40 artists and speakers in support of Palestinian rights. Despite the refusals, he pledged to continue organizing benefit concerts, possibly outside the US.

What is confirmed and what is not

The report is based on the artist's own statement on Instagram; the position of the arenas mentioned is not given in the Anadolu report, and their reasons for the refusals remain independently unconfirmed. The claimed scale of the European concerts is also reported based on Macklemore's words.