Kanye West's Russia shows officially cancelled after weeks of uncertainty

Two stadium gigs in Russia by Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, have officially been cancelled.West had been due to perform at the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg on 10 and 11 October.But there was confusion in the lead-up to the shows, as the venue had said it wouldn't host him for what would have been the biggest show by a western artist since Russia-invaded-Ukraine-in-2022" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="212197" data-entity-type="event">Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.In a post on messaging app Telegram, gig organisers Say Agency confirmed the concerts had been cancelled with "sincere regret"."The Ye concerts in St Petersburg will not be able to take place on the scheduled dates," the Moscow-based agency wrote."We will issue an official statement regarding the status of the project and our plans in the near future."Getty ImagesWest returned to touring earlier this year and has had a string of US stadium shows