Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India]: British singer Ed Sheeran has spoken out after Bengaluru police halted his live performance on Church Street, clarifying that he had prior permission to perform.
Taking to his Instagram story on Sunday, Sheeran shared a brief statement, saying, “We had permission to busk, by the way. Hence, us playing in that exact spot was planned out beforehand. It wasn’t just us randomly turning up. All good though. See you at the show tonight x.”
The singer’s street performance was stopped by the police on Sunday, with authorities stating that they had not granted permission for the event. However, Sheeran’s team insisted that the act had been pre-approved.
A viral video of the incident shows Sheeran starting his hit song Shape of You before police intervened within a minute and disconnected the cables.
DCP Central Bengaluru, Shekar T. Tekkannanavar, defended the move, stating, “Chetan, a member of the organizing team, came to me seeking permission for the concert on Church Street. I clearly rejected it, saying that Church Street becomes too congested. As per the high court order, many evacuations have been done from the area, so we did not permit Ed Sheeran to perform. That is why he was asked to vacate the place.”
Sheeran is currently on his India tour and is set to perform in Bengaluru on Sunday. He has already performed in Hyderabad and Chennai, where he shared the stage with legendary composer AR Rahman for a rendition of Urvashi.
Before the concert, Sheeran also met AR Rahman and his son AR Ameen, with Rahman later sharing pictures of their meeting on Instagram. The caption read, “Photos by Ed Sheeran.”
The singer is scheduled to perform in Shillong and Delhi NCR in the coming days.