Leonard Cohen finally confirmed his long-scheduled date with Israel last week. In a much anticipated announcement, the sponsors of the concert – Israeli bank Bank Discount – finally put their backing behind the show on September 24th, even though Leonard Cohen himself had already included Tel Aviv as the final date on his world tour and made the concert semi-official. Israeli fans of Leonard Cohen can now rest a little more easily, after rumours of cancellations due to an inability to insure Leonard Cohen running rife in recent weeks. Nothing is ever set in stone of course, but for now, things are looking good…
And in a move to appease those who opposed his concert in Israel (and yes, there are many who find it unacceptable that Leonard Cohen should perform in the Holy Land – check out this Facebook page for example), Leonard Cohen has also agreed to perform in the West Bank town of Ramallah on the 26th September, two days after the show in the Ramat Gan stadium (which is just on the edge of Tel Aviv, and the location for Depeche Mode’s recent show), Israel. A much smaller crowd is expected in Ramallah, around 1000.
Tickets for the Ramat Gan stadium show go on sale on July 1st. Prices are still to be determined, but don’t expect any bargains. And don’t forget to see our guide to who else is coming to perform in Israel this year – it’s fast turning into one of the greatest (and most expensive!) years ever for Israeli music fans!
And here’s a little reminder of what we can expect from Leonard Cohen…he’s never really floated my boat but he’s a legend and the wife loves him (the women love Leonard!), so I’ll be there on September 24th.