Opening his set with “24K Magic”, the Hawaii-born star called out “Tel Aviv! The Hooligans [his band] have made it to Israel. We’ve heard stories about this place, we heard that you sweat and we heard that you dance… We’ve been waiting a long time to play for you," reported the Times of Israel.
The hitmaker is known worldwide for his exuberant live performances, and for singing and producing songs including “Just the Way You Are”, and his cover of Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk”, with which he closed his Yarkon Park set.
For Wednesday’s show, Mars was supported by Israeli performers Jonathan Mergui and Agam Buhnut, and the second concert will feature Netta Barzilai and Eliad Nachum.
Due to the tremendous demand for his first concert, which sold out in just two hours when tickets went on sale in March, the star added the additional show.
Despite the pressure that Mars had received to cancel the concert, from the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, including its advocacy group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), the producers Guy Beser and Shay Mor Yosef, owners of Bluestone Group's Live Nation Israel, were successful in bringing the star to Israel.
