Coldplay's Johannesburg concert date angers Jewish fans

The Johannesburg leg of Coldplay’s South African tour will fall on Yom Kippur and many Jewish fans have already voiced their dissatisfaction, according to the IOL website today.

Yom Kippur, which is also known as Day of Atonement, is one of the holiest days of the Jewish calendar. Jews traditionally observe a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, with most of the day spent in synagogue services. Irate fans voiced the unhappiness on social networking sites like Twitter. One of the more prominent tweeters, Mandy Wiener, wrote: “The Joburg #Coldplay concert is on the most religious Jewish holiday of the year, Yom Kippur. So no jews can go. Outrageous. @BigConcerts”

According to the tour publicist, Penny Stein, the dates were set in accordance with the bands international tour schedule and although it is regrettable that it fell on a religious holiday, there is no question of changing the dates. “Unfortunately it's a case of the band coming from one place and moving to another, and the scheduling was unavoidable. With an artist the size of Coldplay, the dates are set in stone months and months in advance from their touring schedule, and there was nothing that could be done to move them.” she is reported to have said.

The first show is scheduled for Wednesday, 5 October at Cape Town Stadium and the second show for Saturday, 8 October at FNB Stadium Johannesburg. The tour is presented by 94.5 KFM, 94.7 Highveld Stereo and M-Net. Click on the links above for full discussion and previews of the shows (and reviews and photos after the shows have finished).