Robbie Williams has been forced to cancel a planned performance in Turkey over terror fears, the singer revealed in a statement released on Saturday.
The Angels hitmaker, 51, took to Instagram to share with devastated fans that he was left with no option but to cancel his set in Istanbul. Robbie told his fans:
“I’m extremely sorry that I will not be able to perform in Istanbul next week.”
The former Take That frontman continued:
“City authorities have cancelled the show, in the interests of public safety. The last thing I would ever want to do is to jeopardise the safety of my fans — their safety and security come first.
“We were very excited to be playing Istanbul for the first time, and purposely chose the city as the final show of the BRITPOP tour. To end this epic run of dates in front of my Turkish fans was my dream, given the close connections my family have with this wonderful country.
“To everyone in Istanbul who wanted to join the 1.2 million people who have shared this phenomenal tour this year with us, I am deeply sorry. We were so looking forward to this show but the decision to cancel it was beyond our control.”
Robbie was due to perform at Atakoy Marina on October 7, the same date as the second anniversary of the terror attacks on Israel by Hamas. According to local publication Turkiye Today, organisers cited potential security risks and public backlash as the reasons behind the cancellation.
The singer has previously faced criticism over his marriage to wife Ayda Field, 46, who has Turkish heritage through her father, while her American mother is Jewish. The couple are proud parents of four children: daughter Teddy, 12, son Charlie, 10, daughter Coco, six, and son Beau, four.
Robbie was also scheduled to release his latest studio album, *Britpop*, just days later on October 10. However, the release has now been pushed back to avoid clashing with Taylor Swift’s *Life Of A Showgirl* tour. Robbie informed fans in August:
“Due to scheduling changes, *Britpop* will now be released on February 6, 2026.”
In other news, Robbie is currently being sued by Ray Heffernan, the co-writer of his smash hit “Angels.” Heffernan claims to have earned just £7,500 from the song and is seeking a third of the future royalties associated with the single. “Angels” has sold an estimated 1.8 million copies in the UK alone as of 2021, combining physical and digital sales.
The Irish singer-songwriter, who wrote the hit at age 22, met Robbie back in 1996 in Dublin during the Christmas holidays. He played the song to Robbie at his mother’s house before they recorded the first version of the single.
The lawsuit aims to leverage the new “bestseller clause” recently passed by the EU to secure a fairer share of the royalties for Heffernan.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-15162651/Robbie-Williams-forced-cancel-tour-gig-Turkey-terror-fears-hitmaker-releases-statement.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
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