Image via Consequence / social — consequence.net
Ed Sheeran told a Philadelphia crowd he nearly walked away from the rest of his LOOP U.S. tour after the week that followed Macklemore’s removal as a support act—and then called the Lincoln Financial Field show the best of his life.
Speaking near the end of Saturday’s concert, Sheeran said the previous seven days were among the worst of his life. Friends and family distancing themselves left him unsure whether he wanted to keep touring or even remain an artist. What steadied him, he said, was watching ticket sales hold: he saw people still buying, not canceling, for a night that drew about 50,000 fans.
Safety worries also reshaped the production. Sheeran scrapped the usual B-stage in the crowd because he feared objects thrown or open hostility. The show went on without the remaining openers—FINNEAS, Lukas Graham, and Aaron Rowe—and without backing group Beoga, who left after Macklemore was dropped when stadium operators, including interests tied to Robert Kraft, objected to the rapper’s onstage comments in support of Palestine.
Sheeran opened and closed the night addressing the controversy, apologizing to families for the long spoken segments, and arguing that the point of the concerts is unity across disagreement. He said he could not abandon fans who had already booked flights, hotels, and childcare to be there.