Two concerts by Kanye West, planned for October in Russia’s St. Petersburg, have become uncertain. Gazprom Arena, announced as the venue for the shows, said there is no signed rental agreement with the organizers and that the events cannot take place at their stadium.
It had been announced that Kanye West would perform at Gazprom Arena on October 10 and 11, and tickets were reported to have sold out quickly. If it took place, West would have been one of the biggest international artists to perform in the country since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
However, Gazprom Arena management said in a statement that no rental agreement had been signed with the concert organizer and that they learned about the news of Kanye West performing at the stadium from the press. The arena management also confirmed that they had received various complaints regarding the artist's concert.
Organizer: "The concert has not been canceled yet"
Moscow-based Say Agency, which is organizing the concerts, said the events have not been canceled. The company said the announcement was made based on an official letter approved by Gazprom Arena and that the stadium management had sent them a rental agreement, but the deal has not yet been signed.
The organizer said they were trying to contact Gazprom Arena to find out why the stadium made the statement and to resolve the issue.
It was reported that tickets on sale for the 70,000-capacity stadium ranged from 9,000 rubles to 160,000 rubles.
Consecutive cancellations on Kanye West's tour
The Russia shows were announced as part of Kanye West's world tour, which has recently been mired in controversy. West has already performed in the Netherlands and Turkey, while many other planned European dates have been canceled or postponed.
Some concerts planned in the UK, Poland and Switzerland were canceled due to the artist's past antisemitic remarks and use of Nazi symbols, while a show in France was postponed. An event in Italy was announced as not being able to go ahead for security reasons.
Because of the dispute between Gazprom Arena and the organizing company, it remains unclear whether Kanye West will perform in St. Petersburg on October 10 and 11.
(Source: nme.com)