Sam Smith hasn’t publicly commented on the cancellation
Sam Smith will no longer perform at the two-day Summer In The City festival in Tel Aviv, Israel, as organisers cite “logistical problems”, Pink News reports. Smith was due to play on 31 May – all shows scheduled to take place that evening have been scrapped.
“Due to unforeseen technical and logistical problems, there will be no shows on the evening of May 31 (including Sam Smith’s),” the Times Of Israel revealed yesterday.
The second day of the festival, 1 June, is slated to go ahead, with Robbie Williams headlining the event.
The cancellation of Smith’s appearance arrives after intense backlash from Palestinian activists and the BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanction) movement. Papa Roach, the nu-metal band behind the hit Last Resort, pulled out of their performance at Summer In The City festival in March. Sam Smith hasn’t publicly commented on the matter.
Ghadir Shafie, the co-founder of the Palestinian Feminist Centre for Gender and Sexual Freedoms, issued an open statement to Smith, urging them to boycott with the message, “[Performing in Israel may sound benign, but it is what allows Israel to continue its wholesale theft of Palestinian life, land, and dignity.”
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign noted that they were “thrilled” to hear that the Unholy singer will no longer perform in “apartheid Israel”.
Read the article by Mary Varvaris in The Music.