Coldplay, visiting Israel and West Bank, denies planning November concerts
Band’s lead singer Chris Martin says no contract signed, members are on ‘enlightening trip’ to ‘listen and learn, and that’s all’
Confirming that its members are in Israel, Coldplay nonetheless denied a TV report Friday that the band was here finalizing plans for shows for Israelis and Palestinians this coming November, saying no concert was scheduled and that no contract had been signed.
Chris Martin tweeted Friday on the Coldplay account that he and his bandmates were “in Israel and Palestine to listen and learn, that’s all.”
Channel 2 reported Friday that Martin was visiting Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Jericho and Rawabi to finalize venues for the shows and that tickets would go on sale soon.
Coldplay had last month said through a representative that earlier reports on upcoming shows in Israel or the West Bank were false. Channel 2 had reported that unprecedented joint concerts were scheduled for November 3 and November 4, at an outdoor location north of the Dead Sea, and that tickets would be sold both in Israel and in the Palestinian territories.
Martin said Friday that “there is no concert scheduled; we are just having an enlightening trip to learn about the area.”
“The articles suggesting that we have a signed contract are incorrect,” he wrote.
— Coldplay (@coldplay) February 24, 2017
This is Martin’s second visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories in less than four months.
He came to Israel in November 2016, directly from Mumbai, where the band headlined the Global Citizen Festival.
He was said at the time to be touring sites for a possible Global Citizen Festival here.
Two recent Coldplay videos were directed by Israelis.
The Times of Israel Community.