Global hip-hop artist Macklemore has wrapped his landmark three-date Free Palestine benefit tour to overwhelming public demand, capping the run with a packed, sold-out show at London’s OVO Arena Wembley on Friday, October 30. Every stop on the itinerary — which also included Dublin’s 3Arena on October 26 and Paris’s Accor Arena on October 29 — sold out within hours of tickets being released, drawing massive crowds eager to stand in solidarity with Palestinian communities amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The tour came together as a direct response to Macklemore being removed from the remaining North American legs of Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour back in September, after he made a public call for a free Palestine during a New Jersey live performance. What began as a moment of professional fallout quickly evolved into a sprawling, cross-cultural movement that pulled in A-list musicians, high-profile activists, Palestinian community leaders and human rights advocates across three European capitals.
Speaking to the capacity Wembley crowd, Macklemore opened up about the personal turning point that pushed him to launch the tour, explaining that staying silent in the face of the catastrophic, widely documented human toll of the Gaza war had grown far more uncomfortable than speaking out against the violence. “I was scrolling through footage, seeing this horrific, unimaginable catastrophe unfolding right in front of our eyes,” he told attendees. “At a certain point, it was more uncomfortable for me to stay quiet than to say something. I don’t think speaking up makes me brave or courageous — it just makes me human. Those children in Gaza are our children. There is no separation between us.” He went on to challenge the arbitrary borders and systemic divisions that drive global indifference to civilian suffering, asking the crowd: “What are we doing as a global community to tear these barriers down?”
His London set featured a mix of his chart-topping hits, including *Thrift Shop*, *Same Love*, *Glorious* and *Can’t Hold Us*, alongside the live debut of *Hind’s Hall*, his newly released protest track written in direct response to the Gaza conflict, which was met with roaring chants of “Free Palestine” from the audience.
The stacked London line-up spanned generations and movements: award-winning UK singer Paloma Faith, Palestinian-Canadian recording artist Nemahsis, climate action icon Greta Thunberg, Palestinian campaigner Arab Barghouti (son of long-detained Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti), Holocaust survivor Stephen Kapos, and Antoine Raffoul, a Palestinian displaced during the 1948 Nakba, all took the stage. Hollywood star Javier Bardem also sent a pre-recorded message of solidarity that was played for the crowd.
Arab Barghouti delivered one of the night’s most resonant addresses, speaking about his father’s 24 years of imprisonment by Israeli authorities. “Israel locked my father away 24 years ago hoping his people and the whole world would forget him,” he said. “But oppressors never understand one simple truth: you cannot imprison hope.” Marwan Barghouti, a towering figure in Palestinian political life, has now spent more than two decades in Israeli custody.
Thunberg, who opened the London show, pushed attendees to go beyond performative gestures, emphasizing that charity concerts and slogans alone would not end the decades-long Israeli occupation. “Philanthropy and well-meaning words will never bring this occupation to a close,” she stated, calling for sustained, organized grassroots pressure to drive tangible political change. Paloma Faith opened up about the very real professional and personal risks that come with publicly advocating for Palestinian rights as a high-profile public figure, noting that it often feels unnerving to take such a public stance. “But none of that fear comes even close to the horror of what would happen if we all stayed silent,” she told the crowd. She went on to challenge the global double standard that prioritizes the safety of some children over others, asking: “Why should my own kids matter any more than the children of Gaza, Palestine, Sudan, Yemen or the Democratic Republic of the Congo? Every single child deserves to be held by their mother and told they are safe. Right now, this world does not feel safe for any of them.” Nemahsis, whose real name is Nemah Hasan, told cheering fans: “My very existence as a Palestinian woman is the strongest form of resistance.”
The tour’s Dublin stop kicked off the run with an equally powerful line-up: Irish folk icon Hozier, Belfast rap collective Kneecap, and folk band Beoga — who had previously withdrawn from Sheeran’s tour in a show of solidarity with Macklemore after he was dropped — joined Palestinian singer Lina Makoul, actor Liam Cunningham and hip-hop duo Dead Prez on stage. Hozier used his set to raise awareness for 55 displaced Palestinian students from Gaza who are still waiting for visa approvals to take up university placements in Ireland. Addressing the Dublin crowd, Macklemore emphasized that the chant “Free Palestine” was never an exclusionary or divisive slogan: “It is not a call for hatred, it is not directed at any group of people — it is a call for all of us to recognize our shared humanity.”
The Paris stop two days later featured a roster of global talent including Norwegian artist Aurora, French singer Pomme, US rock band Portugal. The Man, and a host of regional Palestinian and Arab performers. Macklemore told the Paris audience: “Tonight we are all here for collective liberation. We are here for a free Palestine. We are here to celebrate the inherent dignity and right to life of every single human being who calls this planet home.”
All proceeds from the three fully benefit shows are being distributed to 12 frontline Palestinian support organizations, including Medical Aid for Palestinians, Jewish Voice for Peace, the Palestinian Youth Movement, the Institute for Middle East Understanding, and medical non-profit Glia. Across every city, the tour served as both a massive fundraising drive for vulnerable Palestinian communities and a public platform to amplify unfiltered Palestinian voices, push for an immediate end to the occupation, and demand global political action to end civilian suffering in Gaza.
‘Those children in Gaza are our children’: Macklemore finishes Free Palestine tour with sold-out London performance
