Fans slam Coldplay after welcoming 'Israelis' onstage

Coldplay’s latest Wembley Stadium concert sparked mixed reactions on Sunday when frontman Chris Martin invited two fans from 'Israel' on stage, drawing both boos and cheers from parts of the 90,000-member audience.

Footage circulating online shows two women, identified as Avia and Yael, joining Martin on the tour’s small satellite stage. When they told the crowd they were from 'Israel', the reaction was divided, with some applauding and others jeering.

Addressing the tension, Martin told the audience, “I'm very grateful that you're here, as humans, and I'm treating you as equal humans on Earth, regardless of where you come from, or don't come from.”

He added to louder cheers, “Although it's controversial, maybe, I also want to welcome people in the audience from Palestine. Because we have a belief that we're all equal humans.”

Martin has previously made similar statements during the tour. At another concert, he said, “Yesterday we had a beautiful Palestinian flag. Today we have an Israeli flag. My brothers and sisters, it makes me happy that both groups can come from Palestine or from Israel. Wherever you came from, even if you just came from 10 minutes away, we're so grateful and I hope you're having a good time."

"This religion, that religion, that nationality, this nationality, all this stuff, all I see is a group of people who are getting along just fine despite the differences," he continued. "So thank you for showing us that, thank you for just existing together in this space without any violence, without any fighting, and just showing us that all these conflicts that we keep being told about are really overcomeable by the power of love and togetherness.”

Despite these messages of unity, Coldplay has faced backlash from some observers who accuse the band of taking a neutral stance while 'Israel' continues a military campaign in Gaza, which critics describe as a literal genocide.

This was not the first time Coldplay acknowledged the conflict during their ongoing Music of the Spheres world tour. At a January concert in Abu Dhabi, Martin invited a Pakistani fan on stage and dedicated a song to “our loved ones that we miss,” including “our brothers and sisters in Gaza.”

Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna, who has supported Coldplay throughout the tour, also performed at both the London and Abu Dhabi shows. The 23-year-old collaborated with the band earlier this year on We Pray with rapper Little Simz, featured on Coldplay’s latest album Moon Music. Elyanna, born in Nazareth and raised in the US, has gained international acclaim for fusing Arabic and Western pop. She made history at Coachella in 2023 as the first artist to deliver a full Arabic-language set at the American festival.