Kanye West’s Shows in St. Petersburg Get Canceled

Bellocqimages/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images Kanye West’s planned performances in Russia have been canceled.

The rapper, now known as Ye, was set to perform on October 10 and 11 at the Gazprom Arena in St.

Petersburg.

Now, the stadium denies ever organizing the concerts and says no rental agreements were signed.

“Gazprom Arena was not and is not the organizer of this event.

This was handled by the Moscow-based concert agency Say Agency,” reads a statement, written in Russian, on the stadium’s official Instagram account .

“Gazprom Arena did not sign any stadium rental agreements for the event.

There is no such agreement.

Accordingly, the concert cannot take place at our venue.” The stadium previously boasted about Ye on its social media account, calling him “the most influential musical artist of our time.” Say Agency said that the concerts were scheduled based on “an official letter that was approved by” Gazprom Arena, according to the BBC .

The Russian entertainment agency said it learned about the cancellation through social media.

The concerts were sold out.

Fans are now condemning Gazprom Arena on Instagram.

One wrote, “You were the first to announce the event and sell tickets on your official website, and now you brazenly lie in your post.” Another said, “They announced the event on their website and social media, thereby convincing people that it would actually take place.

People come from all over the country, bought tickets, paid for hotels, and then you just cancel it.” Ye would have been the first major Western artist to perform in Putin’s Russia since the war in Ukraine began in 2022.