Joss Stone has been denied entry to Iran to play what would have been the 200th and final stop on her Total world tour.

The tour, which sought to play in every country in the world, began in 2014, and was scheduled to come to a close in Iran on Saturday 29 June, following stops in Yemen (country #199) Libya (#198) and Saudi Arabia (#197).

As with Stone’s March show in Pyongyang, North Korea, the Iranian concert would have been behind closed doors, as public shows by solo women are illegal. “Personally I don’t fancy going to an Iranian prison, nor am I trying to change the politics of the countries I visit, nor do I wish to put other people in danger,” the British singer wrote on social media.

Stone reportedly entered Iran, a Shi’ite theocracy, via Kish island, an economic free zone open to all nationalities, but was denied entry to the country proper as she lacked the correct paperwork. According to AFP, the state-run IRNA news agency quoted Kish police as saying Stone arrived from Muscat, in Oman, on Saturday 29 June, but “lacked the necessary documents and permits” to enter Iran.

https://www.facebook.com/jossstone/videos/vb.5630135837/2282907922024074

Stone said authorities “didn’t believe we would be playing a public show” and so placed her on a black list, something the touring party discovered when they arrived at immigration. “After long discussions with the most friendly, charming and welcoming immigration people, the decision was made to detain us for the night and to deport us in the morning,” she continues. “Of course I was gutted. So close yet so far – this moment broke a little piece of my heart.”

Kish police, however, dispute Stone’s version of events, saying she was never detained, and that she and her companions returned to Oman on Sunday morning.

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British singer Joss Stone has performed at a bar in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, as part of her effort to play in every country in the world.

Stone announced the visit as part of her Total world tour, which began in 2014 and is due to end later this year. The tour has already taken Stone to over 175 countries, including Venezuela, Syria, Iraq and the Palestinian territories.

The singer says Simon Cockerell, general manager of North Korean tour operator Koryo Tours, helped her get into the isolated country.

On our way to #northkorea #pyongyang We won’t have any WiFi or phone signal whilst we are there so if you want to see any pics or videos @simonkoryo (Instagram) will be posting a few. Simon is helping us make this trip happen. X

— Joss Stone (@JossStone) March 12, 2019

Stone performed to an audience of tourists and tour guides, and later met the British ambassador to North Korea, Colin Crooks.

Stone describes the Total tour as a “musical and social project that aims to bring people together and create joy through music.”

The singer is aiming to balance the carbon emissions associated with travel for her tour,  investing in renewable energy and reforestation in India with the support of Energy Revolution, a festival industry collaboration tackling climate change.

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Joss Stone has become one of the first major artists to attempt to balance her carbon emissions from international touring.

Partnering with Energy Revolution, a charity set up to address the biggest source of CO₂ emissions in the live music sector – audience and artist travel – Stone has so far balanced 2.7 million travel miles by donating towards wind-power generation and reforestation in Tamil Nadu, India. Investing in renewables in India, explains the organisation, has a far greater impact than investing in, say, the UK, as India’s power stations emit twice the carbon of UK power stations due to their fuel mix.

“My Total world tour is a musical and social project that aims to bring people together and create joy through music,” comments Stone (pictured). “We are doing something positive with our music so it’s right that we must do something positive from our travel footprint, which is an unfortunate consequence of the tour and live music in general.

“We are doing something positive with our music so it’s right that we must do something positive from our travel footprint”

“I would love other artists and music audiences to balance their travel so we can improve the footprint of musicians and live music in general.”

Stone’s Total world tour kicked off on in 2014 and ends in late 2019. Her aim is to visit every country in the world while balancing the emissions associated with this travel.

Her next shows are at Vicar Street in Dublin, the Ulster Hall in Belfast, the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow, St David’s Hall in Cardiff and the Royal Festival Hall in London.

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