Former Take That singer Robbie Williams has been forced to cancel the final show of his Britpop tour “in the interests of public safety”.
Williams, 51, was due to perform at Atakoy Marina in Istanbul, Turkey, on Tuesday, October 7, but posted on Instagram on Saturday to tell fans he was “extremely sorry” to have to cancel the concert.
He said: “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.”
The Sun report the gig was cancelled over fears of threats in Turkey due to his support for Israel, where he has played gigs in the past.
Williams is married to Ayda Field Williams, a Turkish-born woman with a Jewish mother.
He will perform his smallest ticketed gig, at Camden’s Dingwalls venue in London on Thursday, running through his upcoming album Britpop, which is yet to be released, in full, with his first solo LP, Life Thru A Lens.
He began the tour in May, performing in cities including London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Helsinki and Athens.
After leaving Take That in 1995, Williams released his chart-topping debut album in 1997, and has achieved seven UK number one singles and 15 UK number one albums.
The albums include I’ve Been Expecting You (1998), Sing When You’re Winning (2000), Escapology (2002), Intensive Care (2005) and Rudebox (2006).
