A competition launched by Ed Sheeran and Guitar Center giving unsigned or emerging musicians the chance to open for Sheeran during his Loop Tour has deleted content after "Free Palestine" videos were added to the competition feed. The competition titled “Open for Legends” gives one act the chance to open for Sheeran during his Loop Tour and opened for entries earlier this week. A spokesperson for Guitar Center told Newsweek: "As with any open submission process, we received entries that were not legitimate applications to participate in the program.
Those submissions will not be considered so that the opportunity can remain focused on musicians who are seeking to showcase their talent." They said the competition would continue to "review and manage the program in accordance with its intended purpose and look forward to recognizing and supporting talented musicians through the initiative." According to the contest page, entrants must submit an original song with an audition video, be at least 18 years old and hold a valid U.S. passport. The winner will get the opportunity to open for Sheeran at his Mexico City Loop Tour show on December 11, 2026. The competition launched on September 14, the same day that it was announced Macklemore would be removed from the Loop Tour over the “Thrift Shop” singer’s pro-Palestinian comments while opening for Sheeran on the tour in the U.S.
The contest announcement came as all members of Sheeran’s band and support artists quit the tour following the removal of Macklemore from the line-up. Macklemore was removed from the tour following a two-minute speech on September 4 at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where the Grammy-winning artist repeatedly said “Free Palestine.” Following this, owners of subsequent tour venues on the North American leg of Sheeran's Loop Tour, including Robert Kraft, billionaire owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium, objected to Macklemore’s appearance on the tour. Days later, it was announced that Macklemore would be removed from the tour, something that Sheeran said in a statement was not his decision.
Following the removal of Macklemore from the tour billing, Sheeran’s band and other support artists publicly announced they were also leaving the line-up. Irish singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe said he was withdrawing in a post on Instagram where he wrote: “I don’t take the decision lightly. Ed has been a friend to me and has changed my life.
But as Irish people we know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violence occupation. I need to be true to myself and my ancestors who resisted colonization, and fought for a freedom that I enjoy today in Ireland.” Similarly, Irish folk group Beoga said in a statement that they were leaving the tour, adding: “This whole episode is once again serving to distract from the real issue, over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since the most recent so-called ceasefire.” The timing of the competition to open for Sheeran came at an unfortunate time as it coincided with the Macklemore announcement. Others criticized the competition for its running time, with screenshots posted to social media on Thursday showing entries closing on October 7, the date of attacks on Israel by Hamas in 2023.
As of Friday, the competition website states entries must be submitted by October 21. The Open for Legends site asks competition entrants to upload video, but issues began when the site appeared to start removing unrelated videos from the auditions feed that were openly captioned “Free Palestine.” The content has since been removed from the site, but was screenshotted and shared across social media. In one post on Threads, a user wrote: "Whoops, Guitar Center's Ed Sheeran opener contest forgot to hire a moderator.
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