Turkiye blocks French singer Enrico Macias concert over support for Israel

Enrico Macias performs for Enrico Macias 80th Anniversary at L’Olympia on February 10, 2019 in Paris, France. [Photo by Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images]

Turkish authorities announced on Wednesday that they had blocked a concert by French singer Enrico Macias, which was scheduled to take place in Istanbul on Friday, following calls for protests against the artist due to his support for Israel.

Istanbul’s governorate said in a statement that while it sought to prevent demonstrations on the sidelines of the concert “against the genocide committed by the terrorist state of Israel in Gaza and its supporters,” it regarded the calls for protest as legitimate.

The 86-year-old singer told AFP: “For more than sixty years, I have had the honour of singing in Istanbul and Izmir, two cities I love dearly because of their exceptional audiences.”

He added: “I feel deeply surprised and saddened that I will not be able to meet my audience, with whom I have always shared the values of peace and brotherhood.”

In an interview with the French channel Legend on YouTube in mid-August, the artist, who has repeatedly defended Israel’s deadly operations in Gaza following the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, said: “I have always sung about peace between Jews and Muslims all the time.”

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