Kanye West's Russia shows officially cancelled after weeks of uncertainty
Chaos has surrounded the St Petersburg shows since the stadium said it had not agreed to host the rapper.
Kanye West’s Russia concerts officially cancelled after weeks of uncertainty
St Petersburg’s Gazprom Arena said in August it would not host Ye
Two of Ye’s concerts in Russia have now been officially cancelled, organisers have confirmed.
The rapper, formerly known as Kanye West, had been scheduled to perform at Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg on 10 and 11 October.
But confusion surrounded the run-up to the shows, after the venue said it would not host him for what would have been the biggest performance by a western artist since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
In a post on the messaging app Telegram, gig organisers Say Agency confirmed the concerts had been cancelled with "sincere regret".
"The Ye concerts in St Petersburg will not be able to take place on the scheduled dates," the Moscow-based agency wrote.
"We will issue an official statement regarding the status of the project and our plans in the near future."
Ye returned to touring earlier this year and has since played a series of US stadium shows
Gazprom Arena said in August that it had not signed a rental agreement with the concert promoters, meaning the gig could not go ahead at its site.
Say Agency had previously said it was working to resolve the issue with the stadium before later confirming the shows could not proceed.
The stadium also said it had received complaints about Ye’s performance.
He has recently apologised for repeatedly making antisemitic and pro-Nazi comments in the past, saying he had "lost touch with reality" as a result of his bipolar disorder.
Russia was invaded by the Nazis in World War Two, and the country’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman was among those who criticised the planned shows.
Maria Zakharova said they were unacceptable and pointed to Ye’s "glorification" of Hitler.
In 2025 Ye began selling swastika T-shirts and released a song called Heil Hitler.
Pro-war bloggers in Russia also questioned whether the country should be hosting an American artist while the US provided financial and military support for Ukraine.
Ye has yet to comment publicly on the cancellation.
His first major concert in the US for more than five years took place in Los Angeles in April, and he has since performed in countries including Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands.
However, his Russian shows are not the only gigs to have been cancelled.
Last summer Ye was due to headline London’s Wireless Festival but was barred from entering the UK, forcing organisers to cancel the entire event.
Ye shows were also cancelled in Poland, Italy and France.