Kanye West's planned Russia concerts cancelled, organiser says

MOSCOW: Two concerts by US rapper Kanye West in Russia that had been scheduled for October have been cancelled, the show’s ​organiser, Say Agency, said.

West, who is also known as ‌Ye, had been due to perform in St Petersburg. However, a week after the concerts were announced in mid-August, the venue due to host them said it ​had never signed a contract with the organisers, a separate ​Moscow-based company.

The shows had remained in limbo ever since, with ⁠organisers providing no clear confirmation of whether they would go ​ahead.

“Friends, it is with sincere regret that we inform you that the ​YE concerts in St. Petersburg will not be able to take place on the scheduled dates. We will issue an official statement regarding the status of ​the project and our future plans in the near future,” Say ​Agency posted on Telegram on Wednesday.

West has faced concert cancellations and performance bans in ‌several ⁠European countries this year following a series of past antisemitic remarks, including praise for Adolf Hitler, and the use of Nazi imagery.

In January West apologised for the remarks, which he attributed to an undiagnosed brain ​injury and untreated ​bipolar disorder.

Had the ⁠concerts gone ahead, West would have become one of the biggest international music stars to visit Russia ​since Moscow launched its full-scale war against Ukraine in ​2022.

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The planned ⁠gigs had drawn criticism from some Russian pro-war military bloggers, who questioned the appropriateness of hosting a US performer while Washington continues to provide ⁠military ​and financial support to Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Ministry ​spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticised the planned shows, calling them unacceptable and citing what she ​described as the West’s “glorification” of Hitler.