Sam Smith appearance at Tel Aviv festival cancelled after intense backlash

Sam Smith’s upcoming performance at a festival in Tel Aviv, Israel has been cancelled.

“Due to unforeseeable technical and logistical problems on May 31, the concerts of that evening (including Sam Smith) will not happen,” event producers said in a statement.

“The festival concerts of June 1 will continue as planned. Those who bought tickets are welcome to contact the company they bought the tickets from for a full refund. People who bought tickets for both days of the festival who want to keep the ticket for the second day will be refunded 25% of the ticket price or cancel it and get a full refund.”

Calum Scott and Robbie Williams are among those performing on the second, and now only, day of the Summer in the City Festival.

Papa Roach, Nunu and Smith were all due to perform on the cancelled day.

READ MORE: How Tel Aviv became a battleground for queer accountability

It would have marked the latter’s first time performing in Israel as the Unholy singer was due to deliver a 90-minute show in support of their new album, Gloria.

In a letter to Smith, Ghadir Shafie, the co-founder of Aswat, a Palestinian feminist centre for gender and sexual freedoms, had said that performing in Israel “despite intentions, helps prop up the false image of Israel as a modern, democratic society…It may sound benign, but it is what allows Israel to continue its wholesale theft of Palestinian life, land, and dignity.”

A hashtag titled ‘#SamDontGo’ was also circulated on social media in a bid to stop the show going ahead, while their concerts at the O2 in London saw protests from fans calling on them to withdraw from the festival.

Smith is yet to directly comment on the show’s cancellation.

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