The concert was scheduled for the same day as the anniversary of the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas on Israeli soil, on October 7, 2023, which triggered a war in Gaza that sparked protests worldwide.
The organizing company announced that the concert was canceled “in accordance with a decision made by the office of the governor of Istanbul,” adding that ticket refunds would soon be issued on the platform where they were purchased.
Speaking to the French Press Agency, the same source cited “security reasons,” without providing further details.
The 51-year-old singer performed in Israel in 2015 and 2023, despite calls for a boycott from pro-Palestinian activists.
Several NGOs urged Turkish authorities to cancel the concert, including the Islamic Solidarity Platform, which had planned protests under the slogan “Robbie Williams, Zionist, leave Turkey!”
“I’m sorry I can’t perform in Istanbul next week,” Robbie Williams announced on his Instagram account.
“The municipal authorities canceled the concert in the name of public safety,” he said. “The last thing I want is to put my fans’ safety at risk. Their safety comes first.”
In September, Turkish authorities banned a concert planned in Istanbul by Enrico Macias, after calls for protests against the French singer’s pro-Israel positions.
The 86-year-old singer told the French Press Agency at the time that he had been performing in Turkey for 60 years and was “deeply surprised and saddened not to see [his] audience, with whom [he] always shared the values of peace and fraternity.”
