Robbie Williams has been forced to cancel a planned performance in Turkey over terror fears as the singer released a statement on Saturday.
The Angels hitmaker, 51, took to Instagram to share with devastated fans how 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.
Robbie Williams has been forced to cancel a planned performance in Turkey over terror fears as the singer released a statement on Saturday
The Angels hitmaker, 51, took to Instagram to share with devastated fans how he was left with no option but to cancel his set in Istanbul
The former Take That frontman revealed: ‘City authorities have cancelled the show, in the interests of public safety’
‘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 of the second anniversary of the terror attacks on Israel by Hamas.
According to local publication Turkiye Today, organisers said potential security risks and public backlash was the reason behind the cancellation.
Robbie has previously been criticised for marrying wife Ayda Field, 46, who has Turkish heritage through her father, while her American mother is Jewish.
The couple are proud parents of daughter Teddy, 12, son Charlie, 10, and six-year-old Coco, and son Beau, four
He was due to release his latest studio album Britpop just days later on October 10, though this has now been pushed back to avoid clashing with Taylor Swift’s Life Of A Showgirl.
Robbie was due to perform at Atakoy Marina on October 7 – the same date of the second anniversary of the terror attacks on Israel by Hamas
Robbie has previously been criticised for marrying wife Ayda Field, 46, who has Turkish heritage through her father, while her American mother is Jewish (pictured in 2024)
Robbie previously told fans: ‘Due to scheduling changes, Britpop will now be released on February 6, 2026.’
In August, it was revealed Robbie was being sued by the co-writer of his smash hit Angels who claims to have earned just £7,500 from the song.
Ray Heffernan will fight the star for a third of the future royalties associated with the single, which had sold an estimated 1.8 million copies, when combining physical and digital sales, in the UK as of 2021.
The Irish singer-songwriter, who penned the hit aged 22, is aiming to use the new ‘bestseller clause’ – recently passed EU copyright law accommodating retrospective compensation for writers – in his upcoming legal battle.
In August, it was revealed Robbie was being sued by the co-writer of his smash hit Angels who claims to have earned just £7,500 from the song
The 1997 record spent 12 weeks in the top 10 on the charts and has since gained a renewed popularity among the newer generation, bagging more than 670 million streams on Spotify.
It was voted the best British song of the past 25 years by voters at the 2005 Brit Awards and in the same year was chosen as the single most Britons would play at their funeral.
Its origins can be traced back to 1996 when Mr Heffernan met Mr Williams on a night out in his hometown of Dublin during the Christmas holidays.
He played the song to the former Take That star at his mother’s house before the pair then recorded a first version of the single.
