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"The current situation in Sudan is urgent, horrific and it's
going largely unnoticed globally. I'm following the lead of
Sudanese organizers and activists who are trying to be heard,”
he wrote in an Instagram post on Saturday explaining his
decision to cancel the Oct 4 concert.
"Until the UAE stops arming and funding the RSF I will not
perform there."
As the UAE’s glitzy political and tourism hub, Dubai frequently
hosts international artists and sporting events. Macklemore's
decision to cancel an engagement because of the country's
politics is extremely rare.
Neither the UAE's foreign ministry nor its global media office
immediately responded to Reuters' request for a response to
Macklemore's decision to cancel.
Sudan's army has publicly criticized the UAE over its alleged
support for the RSF, its rival in the war.
The UAE denies the allegations, though U.N. experts have said
they are credible. The allegations surfaced in a fiery back and
forth at the U.N. security council in June.
The war in Sudan began in April 2023 when competition between
the army and the RSF, who had previously shared power after
staging a coup, flared into open warfare.
Efforts in pursuit of a ceasefire, including talks ongoing in
Switzerland, have not eased the fighting, and half of Sudan's 50
million population lack food.
Macklemore, a Grammy-winning artist, said in his post that the
war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza prompted him to reconsider
how he earns money and his ability to use his artistic platform
for activism.
"If I take the money, while knowing it doesn't sit right with my
spirit, how am I any different than the politicians I've been
actively protesting against?" he wrote, urging other artists
scheduled to play in Dubai to reconsider.
Macklemore in May released Hind's Hall, a high-profile protest
anthem in solidarity with pro-Palestinian activists occupying
university campuses in response to the war in Gaza.
(Reporting by Andrew Mills; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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