Kanye West’s Russia concerts cancelled after weeks of uncertainty

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.

Kanye West’s upcoming concerts in Russia have been called off, event promoters have confirmed.

The 49-year-old American rapper was scheduled to perform at the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg on 10 and 11 October.

Writing on the messaging platform Telegram, Moscow-based promoter Say Agency announced that the dates had been scrapped.

"Friends, it is with sincere regret that we inform you that the Ye concerts in Saint Petersburg on the scheduled dates will not be able to take place," the agency posted.

"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.

The Moscow Times previously reported how Gazprom Arena announced that the shows “cannot take place” because rental contracts had not been signed by the show’s organizer, Say Agency. That statement came despite the venue previously promoting the concerts.

Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova previously called the planned shows unacceptable and pointed out West’s “glorification” of Hitler.

Last year West 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 added that his bipolar disorder led him to fall into “a four-month-long, manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour that destroyed my life”.

In April, West’s show in Marseille, France, was postponed after he was denied a UK visa earlier that month, which led to the cancellation of his headline appearances at London’s Wireless Festival, following a backlash over his antisemitic remarks.

The following month, one of West’s concerts in Italy was cancelled over “public order and safety issues”.

He had been due to perform at the Pulse of Gaia Festival at the RCF Arena in Reggio Emilia on 18 July, but the city’s prefect Salvatore Angieri stopped the gigs after “concerns” from the local Jewish community.

West’s first major concert in the US for more than five years was held in Los Angeles in April, and he has since played in countries including Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands.

The Press Association has contacted West’s representatives for comment.