Kanye West Concerts Ruled Out by Russian Stadium

A Russian stadium has stated that the two scheduled Kanye West concerts “cannot take place” at the venue.

The pair of St Petersburg performances were unveiled earlier this month, with every ticket reportedly purchased within hours. The concerts are currently listed for October 10 and 11 at Gazprom Arena. If they proceed, West would become one of the first internationally prominent musicians to appear in Russia since the nation invaded Ukraine in 2022.

When the dates were initially confirmed, Russian politician Vitaly Milonov criticized the plans and proposed that the rapper sing traditional Russian music rather than deliver his standard set. “Maybe after this he’ll stop his disgusting antics and become a normal person,” he added in a video statement.

Gazprom Arena has now responded by saying that the performances “cannot take place on our site”.

Representatives for the stadium explained that no venue rental contract had been finalized with the promoters. They also addressed the complaints received over West’s planned appearance and insisted that the company “was not and is not” involved in arranging the rapper’s booking.

According to the venue, the concerts were instead organized by Say Agency, which is based in Moscow. Officials said they were caught off guard by the announcement and “learned about [it] at the same time as [everyone else] did, through the media” (via BBC News).

Say Agency later responded in its own statement, saying, “As of now, the Ye concert has not been cancelled”. The promoter added that its team is “trying to contact the venue to find out the reason for the post and resolve the issue”.

The agency also maintained that Ye’s appearance had been arranged using “an official letter that was approved by” Gazprom Arena. It further claimed that the venue had provided a rental contract, although the document had not yet received signatures.

Reports published last week indicated that admission for the venue, which can hold 70,000 people, was priced between 9,000 roubles (£78) and 160,000 roubles (£1,394).

The concerts are connected to West’s current and widely disputed return tour, which began at SoFi Stadium in California. Since then, the rapper has performed in the Netherlands and Turkey. Following the latter appearance, Ye said 118,000 people attended his Istanbul concert and claimed it established a new record for the largest stadium performance.

Several dates have already been removed because of the rapper’s record of antisemitic statements and incorporation of Nazi symbols. Among them was the three night Wireless Festival in London, which cancelled its 2026 edition after the British government prevented Ye from entering the country. His proposed dates in Poland and Switzerland were cancelled as well. A performance in France was delayed, while an Italian concert was stopped because of security worries.

In the United States, Florida Senator Rick Scott made an unsuccessful effort to persuade the Tampa Sports Authority to call off Ye’s two June concerts. San Antonio’s mayor was also unable to prevent the rapper’s July 4 event at the Alamodome.

West’s pattern of antisemitic statements can be traced to 2022, when he published multiple offensive messages online. The backlash led to his Instagram and Twitter profiles being restricted. He was also dismissed by his attorney and talent representatives, separated from his record company and cut off by fashion businesses including Balenciaga and Adidas.

West initially participated in several interviews and declined to express regret for his statements, while arguing that Jewish people should “forgive Hitler”. In 2023, however, he published an apology directed toward the Jewish community. The following year, he attributed his conduct to alcohol.

A series of legal actions followed that first apology, with several plaintiffs accusing the artist of repeated antisemitic conduct. A former staff member claimed that West believed Jewish people were “working together to hold him back”. The musician later posted more widely condemned messages during early 2025. During that period, he withdrew his earlier apology concerning his antisemitic comments and described himself as “a Nazi”.

He later wrote on X, “after further reflection”, that he had “come to the realisation that I’m not a Nazi”. Only a few days afterward, additional clothing featuring swastikas appeared on his X account.

Earlier this year, West released another apology addressing some of his earlier statements shortly before Wireless was cancelled. He later responded to the continuing backlash through an update connected to his Wall Street Journal “to those I’ve hurt” letter, which was first released in January.