"It doesn't need to be political," one fan said in an interview outside the stadium in Philadelphia. Ed Sheeran told the crowd he had made mistakes after Macklemore was dropped from his tour for making pro-Palestinian remarks. Key points and original sources are listed below.

• "It doesn't need to be political," one fan said in an interview outside the stadium in Philadelphia. "It's about the music, and we support both of them and it's all good."S1

• Ed Sheeran told the crowd he had made mistakes after Macklemore was dropped from his tour for making pro-Palestinian remarks.S2

• The singer-songwriter began his Philadelphia show on Saturday night by apologizing for “mistakes” and saying he felt compelled to speak out about the “humanitarian issue.”S3

• Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour looked very different from what fans may have expected when the singer-songwriter took to the stageS4

• The mega-star spoke about the issue and about Israel and Gaza at his first concert since rapper Macklemore was removed from his tour and other artists dropped out.S5

• Music star Ed Sheeran spoke out about "the most complex political issue on the planet" at his Philadelphia concert on Sunday (AEST), labelling the Gaza war "catastrophic and unjustifiable".S6S7

• Ed Sheeran addressed the controversy surrounding Macklemore’s removal from his Loop Tour on Saturday night, speaking from the stage atS8