Morrissey’s Turkish concerts axed amid backlash to pro-Israel stance
(Credits: Morrissey)
Morrissey‘s upcoming concerts in Turkey have been cancelled.
The former frontman of The Smiths was due to perform at the Volkswagen Arena in Istanbul as well as in Ankara at the ATO Congressium in December. However, both shows have since been removed from his website, and Ticketmaster states they have been cancelled.
Morrissey has yet to comment on the cancellation of the shows, and there has also been no official word from promoters about the reasoning for the pair of concerts no longer going ahead.
It comes after a prominent Turkish X user, The Laik Yobaz, posted a video, which has been viewed almost a million times, on October 8th from a concert in 2012 that sees Morrissey draped in an Israeli flag while performing in Tel Aviv.
He captioned the post: “Let me introduce: Zionist singer Morrissey, a supporter of Israel, will give a concert at Volkswagen Arena on December 16.”
The message continued, “This concert should not be allowed while children are dying in Palestine. This concert must be canceled!”
Morrissey was previously awarded a key to the city of Tel Aviv in 2012, and during a show in Binyamina, Israel, in 2023, he told the crowd, “I’m very happy to be here in God’s country, the heart of the world.”
Last week, Robbie Williams’ planned performance in Istanbul was cancelled due to public safety concerns. The show was axed after Turkish media reported recent social media abuse aimed at Williams for previously performing in Israel in 2023.
Williams told his followers on social media, “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.
The statement continued, “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. 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.”
Meanwhile, earlier this week, Morrissey announced details of his only UK show in 2026, which will take place at the O2 Arena in London on February 28th, 2026.
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