Ed Sheeran addresses Gaza controversy in Philadelphia concert

British singer Ed Sheeran returns to the stage in Pennsylvania on Saturday to defuse the controversy that swirls around a corporate boycott that forced the removal of his original US opener, rapper Macklemore, over "Free Palestine" comments he made during a September 5 show in New Jersey.

Scores of pro-Palestinian protestors congregate about half a mile from Lincoln Financial Field before the concert starts.

Organisers say they are there to talk to people about the conditions on the ground in Gaza and to highlight local groups advocating for Palestinians.

When Ed Sheeran commenced the American leg of his Loop Tour, he could scarcely have anticipated standing alone on the Philadelphia stage, after dropping Macklemore prompted all other opening acts, alongside Sheeran's own backing band Beoga, to pull out as a display of artistic solidarity with the banished rapper.

Sheeran has said he's not responsible for the ousting which came at the urging of several stadiums, spearheaded by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

Breaking the silence Saturday night, Sheeran delivers an emotionally raw confession to his audience, emphasising he wants his music and shows to be about unity and humanity, not politics.

He speaks about both Hamas' 2023 attack in Israel, as well as conditions in Gaza and the West Bank.

He says: "What happened in Israel and at the Nova Music Festival on October 7th was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain. What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate. Our heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians' lives, of children's lives."

"And the systemic injustice we're seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked."

Sheeran further notes he talked with venues at length all week to try to build a "bridge" before Macklemore was dropped.

Some concertgoers indicate the controversy does not matter to them and that they don't think Sheeran did anything wrong.

Diane Savitz says: "Ed Sheeran is a great performer. He has gotten me through the roughest days and the best days of my life, and I don't think politics belong at any music venue."

Some ex-fans express dismay that Sheeran did not pick a side.

Hillary Steinberg says: "I had always assumed that he was fairly progressive because of his previous, ideological stance. And so I was surprised when Macklemore was announced to be cancelled, but we were like, well, maybe it wasn't his call. But then it became clear that he had sort of caved to a corporate interest and to, what the stadium owners wanted. And so, I was immediately turned off. And so I feel fairly betrayed, as a former fan."