Kanye West will perform in St Petersburg in October in yet another controversial move for the US rapper, who will become the biggest western star to play in the country since its invasion of Ukraine. The performance is set to take place in the Gazprom Arena, according to a Telegram post on Monday from the stadium. It comes after West, known as Ye, has faced a series of concert cancellations and performance bans across Europe after making antisemitic remarks, including praise for Adolf Hitler, and the use of Nazi imagery.
West bought out a full-page advert in the Wall Street Journal where he issued an apology for his behaviour, attributing it to his bipolar-1 disorder in January. If the concert goes ahead, Mr West would become one of the biggest international music stars to visit Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Jason Derulo performed there this summer and DaBaby and Tyga played in Moscow last year.
Ticket prices for the two shows start at 9,000 roubles (£78.20) and the cheapest tickets sold out within an hour, state news agency TASS reported. The most expensive are priced at 160,000 roubles (£1,390.29). Gazprom Arena is the home ground for Zenit St Petersburg football club with a capacity of about 70,000 spectators.
West was banned from travelling to the UK to headline Wireless Festival in April following concern over his antisemitic comments. The festival had advertised the show as a “three-night journey through his most iconic records”, which would have been his first performance in the UK in more than a decade. Jewish leaders across the UK refused to meet the rapper, with the Jewish Leadership Council telling Wireless organisers they would not help “save their festival”.
The Home Office stopped his application to travel to the UK because his presence would “not be conducive to the public good”. Wireless Festival was cancelled as a spokesperson said refunds were issued to all ticket holders. The Independent has contacted Ye’s reps for comment.
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