Authorities in Turkey have cancelled a Robbie Williams concert in Istanbul over "safety concerns" after several calls for a protest.
The concert would have taken place on October 7 — the anniversary of the Hamas-led attacks on Israel that led to a two-year war in Gaza and global protests against it.
The organising company said the concert's cancellation was "in line with a decision made by the Istanbul Governor's office", and refunds would be processed shortly through the platform from which they were bought.
The source from the governor's office told AFP that the decision was made over "safety concerns", without elaborating further.
British singer Williams, whose wife, Ayda Field, has a Turkish father and a Jewish mother, performed in Israel in 2015 and 2023 despite calls from pro-Palestinian activists to boycott the country.
Activist groups urged authorities to cancel the Istanbul concert, and others, including the Islamic Solidarity Platform ,had planned protests under the slogan "Zionist Robbie Williams, get out of Turkey."
"I am extremely sorry that I will not be able to perform in Istanbul next week," Williams, 51, wrote on Instagram. "City authorities have cancelled the show, in the interests of public safety.
"The last thing I would ever want to do is to jeopardise the safety of my fans – their safety and security come first. To end this epic run of dates in front of my Turkish fans was my dream, given the close connections my family have with this wonderful country."
In September, authorities banned an Enrico Macias concert in Istanbul after calls to protest against the French singer's pro-Israel views.
Macias, 86, told AFP at the time that he had performed in Turkey for 60 years and was "deeply surprised and saddened not to be able to see my audience, with whom I have always shared values of peace and fraternity".
-With Agencies
