Lorde cancels controversial Israel show, Russian dates still going ahead

Two stops in Russia, announced at the same time as the newly axed Tel Aviv date next summer, are unaffected by the New Zealand artist's decision. Lorde will play St. Petersberg and Moscow on 29 and 31 May respectively.

In a statement, reported by The Jerusalem Post's Amy Spiro, Lorde says:

Here is @Lorde's statement on the cancellation of her Tel Aviv show, via Israeli PR for the concert. pic.twitter.com/Ph0uGHRjCV

— Amy Spiro (@AmySpiro) December 24, 2017

The initial criticism stemmed from an open letter by New Zealand fans Justine Sachs and Nadia Abu-Shanab. After it gained traction, Lorde replied that she was "considering all options".

Since pulling the date, Eran Arieli (one of the producers of the planned show), apologised to Lorde and her fans. Israel's Culture Minister has also called on the "Green Light" star to reverse her cancellation, and the Israeli Ambassador to New Zealand has invited Lorde to chat:

Eran Arieli, one of the producers behind Lorde's Israel gig, said he apologizes to her fans and to the singer herself, "who doesn't deserve all the shit she's had to put up with over the past week" adding: "I was naive to think a singer of her age could handle that pressure."

— Amy Spiro (@AmySpiro) December 24, 2017

The Israeli ambassador to New Zealand has invited Lorde to meet him and discuss how music should unite us. But Lorde doesn't need to hear from Israeli gov't officials, she should hear from her local fans who basically couldn't care less about the gov't. https://t.co/vA2GaJSIZw

— Amy Spiro (@AmySpiro) December 26, 2017

This year has seen a number of artists challenged on their Israel performances, including Radiohead and Nick Cave, and German festival Pop-Kultur Berlin was boycotted by some artists over its links to the nation.