- The evangelical pastor
Franklin Graham scrapped his 2020 UK tour amid a backlash and venue boycotts. - Graham, a Trump ally who believes homosexuality is a sin, announced a 2022 UK tour on Monday.
The evangelical pastor Franklin Graham is reviving his scrapped UK tour, after promising venues that he wouldn't be discriminatory.
Graham canceled his eight-stop UK tour in February 2020 after a string of venues dropped him over protests against his beliefs — which include that homosexuality is a sin and Islam is evil — led by LGBT activists and other Christians.
Graham, a close ally of former President Donald Trump and the son of the evangelist Billy Graham, wrote on Facebook at the time that it was untrue he was bringing "hateful speech" to the UK but reiterated that he believed homosexuality was a sin.
In a Monday statement, representatives for Graham announced a new, scaled-down UK tour, which stops at ExCeL London, Utilita Arena Sheffield, the International Convention Centre Wales, and ACC Liverpool between May and July 2022. Attendance is free, the statement said.
ACC Liverpool and Utilita Arena Sheffield were among the venues that dropped Graham in 2020.
In statements to Insider this week, ACC Liverpool and ICC Wales said they agreed to host Graham in 2022 after they were promised that his message would not be discriminatory.
"ICC Wales has received assurance from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association that the content of the God Loves You Tour – UK will not breach any UK laws and that The Reverend Franklin Graham will not be speaking out against anyone, or any group of people, and that his message will be one of God's love and non-discriminatory," the ICC Wales said.
A spokesperson for the ACC Liverpool Group said: "We have received satisfactory assurances from the organizers of the event that The Reverend Franklin Graham's message will not be discriminatory, disrespectful or negative towards any particular communities, groups or individuals."
ExCeL London directed Insider's request for comment to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which announced the 2022 tour, and the Sheffield Utilita Arena did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
After the Sheffield Utilita Arena canceled Graham's appearance in 2020, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association sued the venue for breaking the terms of contract, The Sheffield Telegraph reported.
"We had contracts signed and, in some cases, deposits paid. I haven't broken any laws. We are being denied because of religious beliefs and our faith," Graham told The Guardian at the time.
The claim has since been settled, and Graham's 2022 appearance at the venue was included as part of a confidential settlement, The Sheffield Telegraph reported.
Graham said in a Tuesday Facebook post that he had recently undergone a successful heart surgery and was in good shape ahead of his upcoming tours.
"I look forward to many opportunities around the world in 2022 to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and invite people to put their faith and trust in Him," he wrote.