00:00This is not usually how I would open the show, but before I play some songs tonight, I hope it's
00:05okay if I say a few words about this last week.
00:12I'm used to my music being criticised and I'm always happy to take that because I'm lucky a lot of
00:18you like my stuff and I'm not surprised that other people don't, you know, it's normal.
00:22But this week, the criticism was about something much more important and I've had to take and make difficult decisions
00:29and I am making mistakes and I'm so, so sorry.
00:33I don't want to disappoint fans and I've never wanted to be an activist musician, but this has put me
00:39in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on
00:45the planet.
00:53My concerts have always been a safe space for everyone and that matters hugely to me.
01:00Honouring my commitment to my fans is also completely central to who I am and that is why I'm here
01:07tonight on my own and continuing my current tour.
01:17But I am deeply worried about the idea that venues should pre-approve content of performers.
01:23This happens in so many places that I perform around the world, but it should never happen in the free
01:27world.
01:33Now, I want to address the question of where I stand in the situation in Israel and Palestine and whether
01:39my doing this concert here tonight implies where I stand.
01:43I have tried in my career not to be a political commentator of any kind because I want my music
01:48and shows to be about unity, not division, about humanity, not politics.
01:57But this is a humanitarian issue and I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore.
02:03What happened in Israel and at the Novo Music Festival on October 7th was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish
02:10pain.
02:11What is happening in Gaza is a catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate.
02:18My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians' lives, of children's lives.
02:27And the systemic injustice we're seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.
02:32I honestly am so grateful that you're here tonight with me.
02:46This concert is still a place where everyone is welcome and everyone here can stand beside people that have opposing
02:52views
02:53and everyone here can stand by people that they don't agree with on everything, but they can all agree on
03:00singing these songs.
03:05And these songs are about love, hope and unity.
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