Robbie Williams was set to close-out his world “Britpop Tour” in Istanbul on Tuesday, however, amid protests, the city has called-off the gig.
The British singer’s trek first kicked-off in May, stopping in cities like Edinburgh, London, Vienna, and Stockholm. He was set to appear at the Atakoy Marina in Istanbul, Turkey, however, according to reports, there were several protests against his appearance, as he drew criticism from pro-Palestinian groups for a previous appearance in Israel.
Reuters reported that the ticketing company Bubilet cancelled the concert at the request of the Istanbul Governor’s Office “in the interests of public safety.” Williams took to social media to share that he is “extremely sorry” the concert was cancelled.
“City authorities have cancelled the show, in the interests of public safety,” Williams said. “The last thing I would ever want to do is jeopardize the safety of my fans — their safety and security come first. We were very excited to be playing Istanbul for the first time, and purposely chose the city as the final show of the Britpop tour.”
He added that “to everyone in Istanbul who wanted to join the 1.2 million people who have shared this phenomenal tour with us, I am deeply sorry,” noting that “we were so looking forward to this show, but the decision to cancel it was beyond our control.”
Williams, who rose to fame as the lead singer of the boyband Take That in the ’90s, has since launched a successful solo career. He last released XXV in 2022.
