South African singer Tyla drops Lagos stop from world tour amid xenophobia backlash

Grammy‑winning South African artist Tyla announced her A*POP world tour with a Lagos concert scheduled for 22 December 2026. Within days, Nigerian social‑media users launched boycott calls and petitions, citing recent xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa. The online pressure intensified after activist Martins Otse (VeryDarkMan) posted, “TYLA SHOW WILL NOT BE HAPPENING IN NIGERIA,” and political figure Omoyele Sowore urged that the concert “must go on.” By Friday the Lagos date had disappeared from Tyla’s official itinerary, while the remaining shows in Europe, North America and South Africa (Cape Town 4 Jan, Johannesburg 9 Jan) remained unchanged. Neither Tyla nor her management provided an explanation. The episode has added strain to already tense Nigeria‑South Africa relations, prompting diplomatic engagement and further public debate about the role of artists in political disputes. The tour continues without the Nigerian stop.