Will Coldplay’s Israel performance plans go up in flames?
The show's producers in Israel met with lead singer Chris Martin following his tweet, in which he denied the existence of a show; they shook hands and still agreed to collaborate; It is believed the band will hold two concerts at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem and one in the West Bank’s city of Rawabi.
The strange saga surrounding the Coldplay concert in Israel continued Sunday after the show's producers announced that the band officially came to Israel to scout for locations in which to perform, despite Chris Martin posting a tweet denying the existence of a show.
Sources close to the production attempted to shed light on the situation.
On Friday, the production company issued a joint statement with the band, which was formulated and finalized by Martin himself, who green lit the official announcement. "It's official, Chris Martin is in Israel to choose a performance location for Coldplay," read the statement, accompanied by pictures of the band members and the owners of the Forum Factor production company.
However, a few hours later, Martin doused the excitement with another tweet: "We are in Israel only to hear and learn about the region, no contract was signed and no performance was scheduled."
In light of the contradiction, the show's producers sought to clarify matters.
According to sources, Coldplay's arrival in Israel is linked to Yehuda Naftali, a billionaire and one of the founders of BIG Shopping Centers.
It turns out that Naftali, known in the business community as someone who strictly guards his privacy, is connected to a Los Angeles doctor, who treats celebrities like Beyonce and Chris Martin.
The doctor had apparently asked Coldplay to perform in Israel, and made the necessary connections. The band subsequently came to tour the country in search of possible locations in November.
Martin was accompanied at the time by his personal manager, Dave Holmes, and it is rumored that both took a liking to the Dead Sea area as a potential site for the concert.
However, the Coldplay artist and his manager got a case of cold feet, and said they had a feeling that the people of Israel were not ready for the kind of performance they had been discussing.
Now there has been a yet another turnabout as the band members seek to advance preparations for their first performance in Israel.
This time, Martin arrived in Israel with the band’s guitarist John Buckland, and toured sites in Jerusalem and the Palestinian city of Rawabi. The pair then had dinner in Jerusalem with the producers.
According to the sources, it appears the production team was surprised to read Martin’s tweet denying the plans.
Even after the tweet, the Israeli production team met with Martin, where they shook hands and it was made clear that both sides are committed to the performance in Israel.
The production company Factor Forum responded in no uncertain terms: "Coldplay visited Israel in order to find a location and set a date for the show, as Martin posted in his statement. The date and location are still unclear, but the performance will take place."
