Kanye West's Russian comeback in jeopardy as stadium seemingly scraps sell-out performance
Kanye West's Russian comeback in jeopardy as stadium seemingly scraps sell-out performance
Ayeesha WalshTue, August 25, 2026 at 5:31 PM UTC
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Kanye West faces controversy over his Russian comeback shows -Credit:WWD via Getty Images
Kanye West's planned return to Russia has been thrown into chaos after a St Petersburg stadium abruptly said it will not host the rapper's scheduled concerts.
Ye, was due to perform two sold-out shows at Gazprom Arena on October 10 and 11 as part of his comeback tour. The venue previously teased the appearances on social media saying that “the most influential musical artist of our time” was going to be performing, adding ,“This is no joke!”
Tickets to the event sold out immediately at prices up to $1,896. However, the Russian venue has now released a statement canceling the shows. They wrote, “In light of the numerous inquiries received by Gazprom Arena regarding the organisation of a Kanye West concert, we hereby officially state: Gazprom arena was not, and is not, the organiser of this event. That role was handled by the Moscow-based concert agency Say Agency.
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“Gazprom Arena has not signed any contracts to lease the stadium for this event. No such contract exists. Consequently, the concert cannot take place at our venue.”
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The Say Agency then posted on Telegram with their own version of events, and denying that the show had been canceled.
They stated that “as of now, the Ye concert has not been canceled,” adding that “we learned about [the announcement] from the media at the same time you did” and that it was “trying to contact the venue to find out the reason for the post and resolve the issue.”
Kanye's promoter has denied the cancelations -Credit:AFP via Getty Images
The promoter later shared a further update saying, “Friends, we see your questions and understand your concern regarding yesterday's news. We want to assure you that the concert has not been cancelled. Preparations are proceeding as planned, and the dates remain listed on the artist's official website.
“We are currently addressing the issues that have arisen and will be back with full details soon. Please wait for official announcements and do not react to unverified reports or rumours. Sincerely, Say Agency.”
Kanye is a controversial figure due to his past antisemitism -Credit:Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Russian politician Vitaly Milonov previously condemned Ye's behaviour and suggested he should perform traditional Russian songs instead. “Maybe after this he’ll stop his disgusting antics and become a normal person,” Milonov said, according to the BBC.
Say Agency previously released a statement acknowledging Kanye's past controversies. They said, “Not everything Kanye West said should be forgotten. Many people are talking about Kanye today.
"Many are trying to criticise him for words spoken during difficult times. But it’s easy to judge based on a single statement. It’s more difficult to listen to a person who has been changing the industry for decades. We listened, and we want to remind you.”
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
