Boy George has met survivors and bereaved families at the Nova music festival massacre site in southern Israel, saying the October 7 attacks and fears expressed by Jewish friends compelled him to speak out.

The Culture Club frontman joined World Jewish Congress Israel president Sylvan Adams at the memorial near Kibbutz Re’im on November 3, ahead of two Tel Aviv concerts, including a performance dedicated to the Nova community.

The singer toured the site privately with survivors, former hostages, bereaved families and representatives of the Tribe of Nova Community Association before addressing a press conference.

Omer Shem Tov, who was abducted from the festival and held in Gaza for 505 days, moderated the gathering. Festival co-founders and community representatives also attended.

Boy George said his song We Will Dance Again grew from his response to the attacks and his encounters with survivors and families at the Nova 06:29 exhibition in London.

“I saw what happened on October 7, and it horrified me. What horrified me more was hearing people who had no connection to what happened telling me it wasn’t true, that it was made up. I was getting messages from Jewish friends in London saying they didn’t feel safe, that they felt uncomfortable wearing their Star of David. My Jewish friends are my family, and you protect your own family. I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing. Writing ‘We Will Dance Again’ wasn’t about making my career better. It was about what I felt deeply inside. For me, the most important line is: ‘If you’re ever confused, I stand with the Jews.’ I feel odd being thanked for doing what’s just normal. Music should make people feel safe, celebrated, and like they belong. That’s the music I want to make.”

Adams, who invited the singer to Israel and is hosting his visit, praised his solidarity with the Jewish community.

“As the son of Holocaust survivors, I grew up with the words Never Again,” Adams said. “I never imagined that, in my lifetime, we would once again witness the mass murder of Jews simply because they were Jews.”

He said the singer had chosen to visit Israel and speak out despite threats and boycotts.

“Your concert in Tel Aviv on November 7, dedicated to the Nova community, is much more than a performance,” Adams said. “When you take the stage, it will be a declaration that terror will never have the final word.”

More than 360 people were murdered and dozens abducted when Hamas-led terrorists attacked the festival on October 7, 2023. The site now houses memorials bearing the names and photographs of those killed.

Boy George, whose hits with Culture Club include Karma Chameleon and Do You Really Want to Hurt Me, is scheduled to perform at Tel Aviv’s Menora Mivtachim Arena on November 4 and November 7.

The first concert has sold out. At the singer’s request, the second will be dedicated to Nova survivors and bereaved families under the banner “We Will Dance Again”.

Adams and the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem donated 1,500 tickets for the November 7 performance, with the Tribe of Nova Community Association distributing them to survivors and families. Live Nation Israel is producing both concerts.

The Re’im visit followed a day in Jerusalem, where Boy George visited the Western Wall and prayed for peace, met President Isaac Herzog and his wife, Michal, alongside former hostage Elkana Bohbot, and toured the Museum of Tolerance’s 06:29 – From Darkness to Light exhibition.