Rod Stewart says he turned down a recent concert opportunity in Saudi Arabia, which has a history of human rights abuses, "to shine a light on the injustices there" for its citizens.
"I'm grateful I have the choice whether or not to perform in Saudi Arabia. So many citizens there have extremely limited choices - women, the LGBTQ+ community, the press," Stewart said in a statement posted to Instagram.
He added, "I'd like my choice not to go… to shine a light on the injustices there and ignite positive change."
The singer also turned down a similar offer to perform in Qatar for the 2022 soccer World Cup and said it was "not right to go."
"I was actually offered a lot of money, over $1 million, to play there 15 months ago. I turned it down," he said in 2022. "It's not right to go. And the Iranians should be out too for supplying arms."
(Photo: Penny Lancaster)
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.