Boy George will return to Israel for a performance on November 4.
“Hello everyone, Boy George here!” he said in a video recorded ahead of the show. “I’m coming to Israel to perform in Tel Aviv. It’s a great honor that you invited me. I’m going to celebrate with you an evening of positivity, love and good energy.”
Boy George announces his upcoming concert inIsrael
(Video: Live Nation Israel)
The concert will be held at Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv and is being brought to Israel by Live Nation Israel. Ticket prices will range from 280 shekels to 799 shekels (about $93 to $265) with sales opening Wednesday at noon.
Boy George, whose real name is George Alan O’Dowd, rose to fame as the lead singer of the British band Culture Club. The group broke through in 1982 with the hit “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?” which propelled it to global stardom. “Karma Chameleon” followed, and the band won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1984.
In the late 1980s, Boy George launched a solo career with the album "Sold", and in 1989 he founded his own record label. Over the years, he has repeatedly reinvented himself, finding success as a DJ, designer and fashion icon, as well as on stage as a producer, creator and actor who has contributed to a range of productions.
Boy George has visited Israel several times, most recently in 2017, when he also performed at the same arena in Tel Aviv’s Yad Eliyahu neighborhood.
Boy George last performed in Irael in2017
(Photo: Ido Erez)
The singer, who was raised in an Irish Catholic family and is not Jewish, has expressed support for Israel over the years. In July, he released the pro-Israel song “We Will Dance Again.” The title refers to a phrase associated with survivors of the October 7 massacre at the Nova music festival, and the song drew criticism on social media.
Boy George’s post sharing the song was flooded with hundreds of pro-Palestinian comments, prompting him to respond to the backlash.
“No matter what I think or what you think, when are you going to realize you’re achieving nothing? It’s a fucking joke. I’m even falling out with Jewish friends. There are no limits to this madness,” he wrote on X.
Earlier this year, at a Eurovision event in London, he said: “I have so many Jewish friends, people I’ve known since I was 15 or 16. Are people asking me, as a person of principle, to turn my back on my Jewish friends? That’s not going to happen. It’s never going to happen.”
Unlike many artists who have called for a boycott of Israel, Boy George has also previously rejected calls by the BDS movement not to perform in Tel Aviv.