Ed Sheeran’s two Gillette Stadium concerts have been canceled outright, a Kraft Group representative confirmed.
The shows, set for Friday and Saturday in Foxborough, Massachusetts, were scrapped late in the week as a nor’easter bore down on the region. The decision came after the stadium had already halted stage construction due to the same severe weather threat.
A representative for Kraft, 85, said that officials had tracked the forecast for days before pulling the plug. “Stadium and tour management, along with public safety officials, have been closely monitoring the weather forecast over the past week,” the representative said. “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.”
The representative added that “the decision was made with the safety of fans, staff and everyone involved in the shows as the top priority.” Refunds were made available immediately at points of purchase, with Ticketmaster buyers set to receive automatic refunds.
Local forecasts called for heavy rain and wind gusts up to 40mph through the weekend, according to FoxWeather. The conditions made an outdoor stadium concert untenable regardless of the political firestorm that had preceded the scheduling crisis.
That firestorm centered on Macklemore, the Grammy-winning rapper originally booked as Sheeran’s support act for the Foxborough dates. Kraft had personally intervened to remove Macklemore from the lineup earlier this month following pro-Palestine comments the rapper made on stage during shows in New Jersey.
Macklemore, 41, laid out the chain of events in a statement. “We were scheduled to play Gillette Stadium later this month, which is owned by the Kraft Group,” he said. “Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium.”
The rapper continued, “Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues’.”
Sheeran, 35, had proceeded with the Gillette dates minus Macklemore, only to lose the shows entirely to the weather. The cancellation leaves no performances at the stadium this weekend by either artist.
Kraft had defended his stance in a statement citing Macklemore’s “recent actions” and “material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey.” He also referenced what he called “a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.”
“Gillette Stadium has a longstanding commitment to providing a welcoming environment for all guests and ensuring that events held at our venue do not provide a platform for hate speech,” Kraft said. He continued: “This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf. Their pain and loss are real. But that advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas, a United States and globally (including Canada, European Union, United Kingdom, and Japan) designated terrorist organisation whose horrific actions have caused immeasurable suffering for Palestinians and Israelis alike.”
The Loop Tour had become a flashpoint in the entertainment industry’s broader tensions over the Israel-Gaza conflict, with Kraft’s personal intervention representing an unusually direct case of a venue owner dictating artistic lineup decisions. The weather cancellation now renders the dispute moot for Foxborough, at least for this weekend.
Sheeran’s tour is scheduled to continue at other North American venues.