Facts about Coldplay Support for Palestine
Translator
Editor
13 November 2023 23:52 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The British rock band Coldplay is set to perform in Jakarta on November 15, 2023. The forthcoming concert has been met with controversy. Some people have been waiting for the event for a long time, while others are calling for its cancellation for various reasons, including the band's support for the LGBTQ+ community and the current troubling situation in Gaza, Palestine.
In fact, the Chris Martin-fronted band has long expressed its support for Palestine. Back in 2011, Coldplay posted "Freedom for Palestine" on its official Facebook page and urged fans to listen to the song, which was initiated by the nonprofit organization One World.
According to Jewish media Forward.com, some fans condemned the band and promised to boycott it, while others expressed support. The song's chorus, "We are the people/ this is our time/ stand up, sing out/ for Palestine," was deemed controversial.
The Facebook post received at least 12,000 comments in one day, according to the Washington Post. Facebook has since taken down the post.
Coldplay had also collaborated with a Palestinian band called Le Trio Joubran, producing a song called Arabesque. In 2017, Chris Martin and his team visited Palestine to enrich their perspective and seek inspiration for their new album.
Martin wrote on the band’s official Instagram page. “Hi everyone. We are in Israel and Palestine to listen and learn and that's all; there is no concert scheduled, we are just having an interesting and enlightening trip to learn about the area. The articles suggesting that we have a signed contract are incorrect,” they said on February 25, 2017.
As reported by thenationalnews.com, Joubran said Coldplay wanted to collaborate on their album Everyday Life. He also said that according to Chris Martin, the whole idea of the album was to present a little bit of peace in the Middle East.
“He was very genuine about it and we thought this was a good initiative from someone who is not Palestinian. It was very sweet actually,” Joubran told the National.
To promote the album Everyday Life (2019), Coldplay performed at a show at The Citadel in Amman, Jordan. In the middle of their performance, just before singing Something Just Like This, Chris Martin emphasized that Coldplay supports peace.
“I believe that everybody has an equal right to go anywhere on earth, and that’s what we stand for. We don’t agree with oppression or suppression of any kind, and we stand for love and for peace, and for brotherhood,” Chris Martin said on November 25, 2019, as quoted from nme.com.
MITRA TARIGAN
Editor's Choice: Protestors Demand Coldplay Concert Cancellation Over LGBTQ+ Values
Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo in Google News
