PAEd Sheeran has pulled out of a gig in St Louis, Missouri, on Sunday evening due to security concerns, as citywide protests swell against injustice.
St Louis residents are up in arms after the acquittal of a white former police officer, Jason Stockley, who was charged with murdering a black man.
Sheeran had sold-out a Sunday night show at the Scottrade Center, but announced on his website he’d be pulling out as local police said they cannot guarantee the typical level of security, after initially peaceful protests turned violent.
Thirty-Three Arrests During Demonstrations. #STLVerdict pic.twitter.com/4O5PW7k2JT
— St. Louis, MO Police (@SLMPD) September 16, 2017
Since the protests over the weekend became heated, 33 arrests have been made in the city, also forcing U2 to cancel their show on Saturday night.
U2 singer Bono posted a statement to Instagram saying:
Deeply saddened at what has happened in St. Louis and having to cancel our show tonight… I found myself reading Dr. King’s speech from the National Cathedral and asking myself is this 1968 or 2017?
The Irish popstar was referring to the following passage:
Human progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability….we are coming to ask America to be true to the huge promissory note that it signed years ago.
And we are coming to engage in dramatic non-violent action, to call attention to the gulf between promise and fulfilment; to make the invisible visible.
GettyA statement from U2’s concert promoter, Live Nation, said:
[the St Louis police department]are not in a position to provide the standard protection for our audience as would be expected for an event this size.
Refunds will be available from point of purchase from Monday. Meanwhile, the initial peaceful protests rage on.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.