Macklemore has announced a three city European concert series titled "Macklemore & Friends: Free Palestine Tour," with shows scheduled for Dublin, Paris and London in October 2026.
Dates, venues and beneficiaries
The currently announced dates are October 26 at Dublin's 3Arena, October 29 at Accor Arena in Paris and October 30 at OVO Arena Wembley in London. The Dublin venue says additional cities and dates are expected, including future dates in the United States.
Organizers say proceeds from the concerts will benefit 12 organizations involved in Palestinian humanitarian work, medical care, education, advocacy and community support: Anera, Glia, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Taawon, HEAL Palestine, Palestinian Youth Movement, Middle East Children's Alliance, Jewish Voice for Peace, Medical Aid for Palestinians, Institute for Middle East Understanding, Palestine Children's Relief Fund and UNRWA USA.
The promotional language says "all proceeds" will go to the organizations, but the available venue material does not define whether that means gross ticket revenue, net proceeds after production costs or the artist's own proceeds. That distinction remains unclear.
The Ed Sheeran tour and the 2014 controversy
The tour announcement follows Macklemore's removal from Ed Sheeran's 2026 tour after controversy over his pro-Palestinian performance and remarks. Macklemore has made support for Palestinians a prominent part of his public activity in recent years.
It has also revived discussion of a much older controversy from 2014.
During a surprise performance at Seattle's Experience Music Project on May 16, 2014, Macklemore wore a dark wig, beard and a large prosthetic nose. Critics, including actor Seth Rogen, said the disguise evoked an antisemitic Jewish caricature.
Macklemore denied that this was his intention. In a statement after the backlash, he said he had not been attempting to imitate a culture and apologized to people who were offended. Contemporary reports quoted him saying that the costume had been intended simply as a disguise for the surprise appearance.
The distinction is important: Macklemore has faced accusations of antisemitic imagery, but that accusation should not be presented as an established description of his beliefs or intentions.
The Nova festival context
The new tour is centered on Palestinian advocacy and aid. Separately, the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel included one of the deadliest attacks ever carried out at a music event.
An IDF investigation released in April 2025 found that 378 people were killed at the Nova music festival site or while fleeing on surrounding roads, including 344 civilians and 34 members of the security forces. The investigation counted 44 people abducted in connection with the festival attack.
That figure superseded an earlier count of 364 deaths that was widely reported in the months after October 7.
According to the military investigation, more than 100 Hamas attackers reached the festival area. Israeli accounts of the wider October 7 assault also describe participation by other Gaza based armed groups.
The Nova massacre and Macklemore's current tour are separate events. There is no evidence in the material reviewed for this article that the tour endorses the Nova attack or Hamas. The relevant connection is that the rapper's renewed political advocacy is taking place against the continuing public debate over October 7, Gaza and how artists frame the conflict.
Ticket sales and additional performers or cities may still change as the tour develops.