Kanye West’s sold-out Russia concerts cancelled, organisers confirm

Two sold-out shows that Kanye West was due to play in Russia have been cancelled after weeks of confusion, organisers have confirmed.The US rapper, who now goes by the name Ye, had been due to perform at the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg on 10 and 11 October.In a post shared on the messaging app Telegram on Thursday, the organiser Say Agency said the shows would no longer go ahead.“Friends, it is with sincere regret that we inform you that the Ye concerts in St Petersburg on the scheduled dates will not be able to take place,” the Moscow-based agency wrote.“In the near future, we will reach out to you with an official statement regarding the status of the project and future plans.“Say Agency is very grateful to everyone who has been by our side these past month and a half: supporting us, worrying, and, like us, waiting for these concerts with all their hearts. We remain in touch and continue to work.”The agency added that ticket refunds would be available from Monday 12 October, with details “about the rules and conditions for refunds” to follow.There have been weeks of confusion over the status of the shows. Gazprom Arena initially posted enthusiastically about the concerts on social media, calling Ye “the most influential musical artist of our time”. Then in August, after the shows sold out, it said it had not signed an agreement to lease the stadium to the concert promoters, so the gig could not take place on its site.The arena stressed that it “was not and is not” responsible for the booking and acknowledged that it had received complaints about the shows.The Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, previously called the planned shows unacceptable due to Ye’s “glorification” of Hitler.A politician, Nikolay Novichkov, called for the musician to be investigated for praising Hitler and said the concerts should be cancelled unless he publicly declared “moral support for Russia and the special military operation”.Last year Ye started selling swastika T-shirts and released a song called Heil Hitler.In January, he took out a full-page advert in the Wall Street Journal to apologise, titled: “To Those I’ve Hurt.”He wrote: “I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.”The rapper said his bipolar disorder led him to fall into “a four-month-long, manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour that destroyed my life”.Ye’s plan to play in Russia – following in the footsteps of Paul Oakenfold, DaBaby, Jason Derulo and Akon – flouts sweeping sanctions and calls for culture boycotts after the country invaded Ukraine in 2022.In April, Ye’s show in France was postponed after he was denied a UK visa, which led to the cancellation of his headline appearances at London’s Wireless festival, amid the backlash after his antisemitic remarks.Ye had been due to perform at the Pulse of Gaia festival at the RCF Arena in Reggio Emilia in July but the city’s prefect, Salvatore Angieri, stopped the gigs after “concerns” were raised by the local Jewish community.Despite the controversy, fans have been undeterred from seeing Ye live when concerts have been allowed to proceed. His first major concert in the US for more than five years was held in Los Angeles in April. He has also performed to vast audiences in Turkey, the Netherlands, Georgia, Albania, Portugal and Kazakhstan, with more dates planned for the US and Indonesia. The shows come in support of his 12th solo album, Bully, released in March.Ye has been contacted for comment. Press Association contributed to this report