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 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. 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. 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.
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.
