Paul McCartney won’t come to Israel to accept Wolf Prize, citing his schedule

British singer-songwriter Paul McCartney says he will not come to Israel at the end of May to receive the 2018 Wolf Prize in music, citing scheduling reasons.

“It it very flattering and I am grateful to be a winner of this year’s Wolf Prize for Music,” he writes to the Wolf Foundation, which announced him as a winner in February, adding, “It is definitely a great honor for me to be included among the greatest artists, creators, scientists and history authors of our times. But after reviewing my schedule I have to announce that I won’t be able to come on the set date.”

“We thank Sir Paul McCartney and his wife Nancy Shevell for the cooperation and respectful correspondence and expect to see them in Israel in May 2019,” says Reut Inon Berman, the Wolf Foundation’s director general.

McCartney can only receive the prize if he comes to a ceremony in Tel Aviv, held yearly in May, but has two years in which to arrive and claim the prize.