Boy George Sets Tel Aviv Arena Show After Pro-Israel Song Sparked Vancouver Backlash

British pop star Boy George will perform at Tel Aviv’s Menora Mivtachim Arena on Nov. 4, booking an Israeli arena date less than two months after his pro-Israel song prompted refund requests and calls to cancel his appearance at a Vancouver fair.

Live Nation Israel announced the concert Tuesday, with the show scheduled in a 360-degree configuration placing the stage in the center of the arena. Tickets went on sale Wednesday at noon local time through Ticketmaster Israel, with prices ranging from 280 to 799 shekels.

The promoter is positioning the Boy George booking as a significant return for international touring in the country. Live Nation Israel’s copy on the Ticketmaster listing bills the concert as the first international performance in Israel in three years, while other Israeli coverage has more cautiously described Boy George as one of relatively few international artists to book the country in recent years.

“It is my honor to come to Israel,” Boy George said in a video promoting the show, promising fans “an evening of love, positivity, and good vibes.”

The booking follows a summer in which Boy George became increasingly outspoken in support of Israel and Jewish communities. In July, he released the AI-assisted reggae track “We Will Dance Again,” referencing the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on the Nova music festival and criticizing artists who have spoken out against Israel.

As TicketNews reported in August, the song prompted a backlash ahead of his Vancouver appearance at the Pacific National Exhibition. PNE confirmed it had received complaints, refund requests and calls to cancel Boy George’s Sept. 7 concert, but organizers declined to pull the show, saying the event maintained a policy of non-censorship and that consumers could decide whether to purchase tickets.

The controversy extended beyond Vancouver. Boy George withdrew from a scheduled run as King Herod in the London Palladium production of Jesus Christ Superstar shortly after releasing the song, while Bandcamp later removed the track under its policy covering music generated wholly or substantially with artificial intelligence.

Boy George ultimately performed in Vancouver and, two days later, appeared before about 800 people at Temple Sholom, where he performed “We Will Dance Again” publicly and indicated that an Israel appearance was already planned for November.

The November concert will mark a return to the same Tel Aviv arena where Boy George performed with Culture Club in 2017. That show included an appearance by Israeli singer Dana International.