Sir Rod Stewart hopes speaking about not playing in Saudi Arabia will “shine a light” on those facing injustices there, including the LGBT+ community.
The 78-year-old singer previously said he turned down more than a million US dollars to play in Qatar before the World Cup in the Middle East country last year.
On Instagram, Sir Rod wrote: “I’m grateful that I have a choice whether or not to perform in Saudi Arabia. So many citizens there have extremely limited choices – women, the LGBTQ community, the press.
“I’d like my choice not to go… to shine a light on the injustices there and ignite positive change.”
It follows a report in the Mirror saying the country’s human rights record is the reason Sir Rod turned down a performance there – despite being offered a “much higher” amount than for the Qatar gig.
Homosexuality is illegal in Saudi Arabia and the country uses capital punishment.
In 2019, US rapper Nicki Minaj cancelled a gig in Saudi Arabia after a backlash due to country’s human rights record.
“While I want nothing more than to bring my show to fans in Saudi Arabia, after better educating myself on the issues, I believe it is important for me to make clear my support for the rights of women, the LGBTQ community and freedom of expression,” Minaj said in a statement to the AP news agency at the time.
Other musicians such as Mariah Carey, Enrique Iglesias and the Black Eyed Peas have played in the country.
Sports personalities including former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson and boxers Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have been criticised by human rights group Amnesty International for being involved with the country.
Fury is set to fight in Riyadh on October 28 against former UFC world heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, while Joshua faced backlash before his 2019 clash with Andy Ruiz Jr in Diriyah and ahead of his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in Jeddah last year.
Amnesty International said it is “glaringly obvious” Henderson’s move to Al-Ettifaq “falls squarely within Saudi Arabia’s mega-money sports-washing project”.
Henderson said in an interview with The Athletic that his decision to move to the country would help highlight the problems faced by the gay community and help bring about change.
