Boston, MA
Hozier addresses world politics at Boston Calling performance
At Hozier’s performance on day three of Boston Calling, he didn’t shy away from world politics, touching on the importance of topics such as LGBTQIA+ rights, the women’s suffrage movement and apartheid in South Africa. He also made vague mentions to the Israel-Hamas war.
During his over-five-minute monologue, he talked about the importance of people showing up for one another, the legacy of protest and the revolution of love and kindness.
Prior to the monologue, Hozier had several other moments with fans including warming up their vocals and teasing one man in the crowd with a t-shirt cannon, saying “It’s like this man has torn a limb off Jack the Pumpkin King” and comparing it to “the world’s longest rainstick.”
Being in Boston, he connected his speech to the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution, talking about the importance of the movements.
The Boston Tea Party, which happened Dec. 16, 1773, is one of the nation’s most well-known events and propelled the country down the road to revolution.
His speech stressed the importance of kindness to one another.
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“I just think these small acts of kindness, these small acts of love and solidarity, I genuinely think they hold the world together — in no sort of lofty, no sort of highfalutin, no sort of high concept way. I genuinely think it holds the world together. The small ways that we show up every single day and the way that we witness in our mess, in our best mates and in our friends, and we see it in our parents,” Hozier said.
- Read more: Shoved, body slammed: Some Boston Calling attendees called Day 3 unsafe
Hozier also vaguely touched upon the Israel-Hamas war.
“We wouldn’t want our neighbors to live with racism or the fear of hatred around the corner. We wouldn’t want them. We wouldn’t want better for them. We wouldn’t want them to live with Islamophobia. We wouldn’t want them to have to face antisemitism. And I believe the core of people on the whole is good. I genuinely do,” Hozier said.
Hozier continued, adding that people “wouldn’t want to see the enabling of war going on” or the “kind of violence that we’re seeing on our TV screens,” but rather safety and security for everyone and Palestine freed from violence.
On Oct. 7, Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages. Israel, vowing to stamp out Hamas, attacked Gaza, leading to tens of thousands of deaths, many of them civilians. Estimates vary on the exact number of Palestinian deaths, and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs puts it at about 36,000 as of May. An additional 81,000 Palestinians have been reported injured, the United Nations reports.
Protests and encampments related to the Israel-Hamas war have played out on campuses across the country, and Massachusetts is no exception. Many of the student actions have resulted in suspensions and in some cases arrests.
At the end of his performance, Hozier brought out a LGBTQIA+ flag and threw his fist up in the air.
While Hozier was preaching about kindness, concert-goers said they felt unsafe due to the amount of people at the festival.
“There was just nowhere to go. So everyone was just kind of being like moved in a wave. And all I could think was, if God forbid there was some kind of panic that we were going to get trampled,” concert-goer Samantha Baron said.
FIFA World Cup host cities lay out security plans ahead of matches
Host cities ramp up security and anti-human trafficking efforts ahead of FIFA World Cup matches across the U.S.
The FIFA World Cup is coming to Massachusetts, and when it comes to having a place for people to hang out together, there will be a free fan zone where everyone can celebrate the big event.
Seven World Cup matches will take place at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA this summer, and the first one is right around the corner, to be played on June 13, with Scotland taking on Haiti.
Fan Zones are a public space to watch the game for people who don’t have tickets to the actual game. Held in public places, they broadcast the mach on giant screens to offer an immersive experience to watch the game, according to FIFA>
“At the heart of FIFA Fan Festival Boston, (a) Cultural Showcase will ignite the stage with a vibrant celebration of the spirit, creativity, and cultural heartbeat of Boston and communities across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” FIFA said.
Where will the fan zone be located when the World Cup games start in just 11 days?
Where is the World Cup fan zone going to be in Massachusetts?
The official FIFA Fan Festival for the 2026 World Cup in Boston will be located at Boston City Hall Plaza at 1 City Hall Sq. Boston, MA.
“The festival will run daily from June 12 through June 27, offering live match broadcasts, cultural showcases, food vendors, and entertainment,” according to FIFA.
The fan zone will open between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and will stay open until after dark, between 8:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. according to reports.
Activities at the fan zone
Here are some of the offerings at the fan zone in Boston, according to the FIFA website:
- Live broadcasts: Giant outdoor screens that broadcast tournament matches in high-definition.
- Entertainment & music: Live concerts, DJ sets, and performances celebrating global culture.
- Interactive activations: Skills challenges, mini-pitches, inflatable games, and sponsor booths.
- Food & merch: International food stalls, local beverage offerings, and official tournament merchandise.
How to go to the fan zone
While the game is free, you do need to register in advance.
“You can select which days and matches you plan to attend through the FIFA World Cup Boston 2026 website or the Meet Boston events page. Up to six people can register on a single application,” the World Cup Boston website says.
So you’re saying there’s a chance? Despite an abysmal start to the 2026 season, the Boston Red Sox remain in the mix for a playoff spot. At least according to FanGraphs, who gives the club a 27.1% chance of reaching the postseason.
Boston’s likely path to October means winning the wild card. FanGraphs gives the Red Sox a 26.1% chance of winning an American League wild card. The team currently sits threes games back of the third and final wild card, despite a record of 25-33.
Don’t look for a division title this year in Beantown. FanGraphs gives the Red Sox a 1% chance of winning the AL East. Which makes sense, since the team currently sits in last place, 11.5 games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays.
But SI’s Tom Verducci and Will Laws thinks Boston has a much tougher chance of making the playoffs. In their deep dive of the postseason, the pair came up with what they call the “Line of Doom.” According to their research, a team that starts “no better than 23–31 and your season is almost over only one-third of the way through the schedule.” Here’s why.
“In the wild card era (since 1995), only one team made the postseason starting with less than 22 wins in the first 54 games, the 2005 Astros (20–34). Of the 231 teams to start 23–31 or worse, only seven made the playoffs—once every 33 times,” Verducci and Laws note.
“Since the postseason field expanded in 2022, 31 teams began 23–31 or worse. Only one, the 2024 Mets (22–32), made the playoffs. That leaves such slow starters with a 1 in 31 chance—virtually the same as the larger sample size,” the pair add.
“The fact is one-third of the season does a good job separating pretenders from contenders. And as the calendar flips to June, understand that the playoff spots won’t change very much. In the four seasons with 12 playoff spots up for grabs, teams in playoff position when May ended kept a playoff spot 73% of the time—35 of 48 teams,” Verducci and Laws conclude.
So what does this have to do with the Red Sox, you ask? It’s Boston’s record after 54 games: 23-31. The “Line of Doom.”
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