Macklemore concluded his Free Palestine tour at a sold-out OVO Arena Wembley in London on Friday, 30 October, sharing the stage with musicians and campaigners calling for support for Palestinians. Paloma Faith, Palestinian-Canadian singer Nemahsis, climate activist Greta Thunberg and Palestinian campaigner Arab Barghouti were among those appearing at the final concert.
The three benefit shows, held in Dublin, Paris and London, directed all funds to 12 organisations supporting Palestinians. Recipients included Medical Aid for Palestinians, Jewish Voice for Peace, Palestinian Youth Movement, the Institute for Middle East Understanding and Glia. According to reports and Macklemore’s announcement, tickets for each concert sold out shortly after becoming available.
The rapper organised the tour after being dropped from the remaining dates of Ed Sheeran’s US Loop tour in September, following his call for a free Palestine during a New Jersey performance. At Wembley, he described watching images of the war in Gaza and reaching a point where silence felt more uncomfortable than speaking publicly. He questioned the divisions separating people and urged the audience to consider how they could be dismantled.
Cheers and chants of “Free Palestine” preceded his performance of “Hind’s Hall”, a protest song responding to the war in Gaza. The set also featured “Thrift Shop”, “Same Love”, “Glorious” and “Can’t Hold Us”. Explaining his decision to speak out, Macklemore told the crowd: “I believe that saying something is human.”
Arab Barghouti spoke about his father, detained Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti, saying Israel had imprisoned him 24 years earlier in an effort to make people forget him. He told the audience: “You cannot imprison hope.” Thunberg, who opened the London event, argued that donations and benefit concerts were insufficient, urging political change alongside expressions of solidarity.
Faith discussed the anxiety surrounding public support for Palestinians, while saying the consequences of staying silent were more frightening. She questioned why her children should matter more than those in Gaza, Palestine, Sudan, Yemen or the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Nemahsis, whose real name is Nemah Hasan, also performed and described her existence as resistance, according to NME.
Other London participants included Holocaust survivor Stephen Kapos and Antoine Raffoul, a Palestinian displaced during the 1948 Nakba. Actor Javier Bardem contributed a message. Across the tour, Palestinian speakers, campaigners and cultural figures called for an end to the occupation and increased political pressure.
The opening concert took place at Dublin’s 3Arena on 26 October, with Hozier, Belfast rap group Kneecap and folk band Beoga joining Macklemore. Beoga had withdrawn from Sheeran’s tour in solidarity with him. Palestinian singer Lina Makoul, Liam Cunningham and Dead Prez also participated. Hozier highlighted the situation of 55 students from Gaza awaiting visas to study in Ireland, while Macklemore described the call for a free Palestine as an appeal to shared humanity.
Paris hosted the second show at Accor Arena on 29 October. Performers included Aurora, Pomme, Portugal. The Man, DJ Habibeatz, Redveil, Siba, Tamer Nafar, Xiuhtezcatl Martinez and Zeyne. Addressing that audience, Macklemore linked the concert’s purpose to collective liberation and the dignity of all people, themes he returned to at the London finale.
