Ed Sheeran opens Philadelphia show by directly addressing row over Palestine he has found himself embroiled in

Ed Sheeran cried on stage and declared he was "so sorry" as he addressed the row over Palestine which led to Macklemore being removed from his tour.

The Shape Of You hitmaker has attracted criticism after his support act was dropped from the Loop live shows after declaring his support for the people of Palestine, and at his first concert back since the row broke out, Ed kicked off the evening with a speech for Saturday's (19.09.26) crowd in Philadelphia.

He said: “This is not usually how I would open the show, but before I play some songs tonight, I hope it’s okay if I say a few words.

“I’m used to my music being criticised … This week the criticism was about something much more important ... I am making mistakes and I am so so sorry.”

“I don’t want to disappoint fans, and I’ve never wanted to be an activist musician, but this has put me in the middle of an important, compassionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet.

“But this is a humanitarian issue, and I cannot hide how I feel about it any more.

“What happened in Israel, and at the Nova music festival on October 7, it was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain.

"What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate. My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation, loss of civilians’ lives. Children’s lives.

At this systemic injustice, (what) we’re seeing unfolding in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.”

Making a rollercoaster motion with his hand, Ed noted the last week had been "like this".

He added: “I’ve had a week of learning."