Ye's St. Petersburg Concerts Officially Called Off
Two Ye concerts planned for St. Petersburg in October have been officially canceled after weeks of mixed signals. Ticket holders are being directed to seek refunds from Russian promoter Say Agency.
Two concerts by rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, planned for St. Petersburg next month have been officially canceled. An Instagram account linked to the U.S. touring agency Access Opera confirmed the cancellation, telling ticket holders to seek refunds through Russian promoter Say Agency.
The shows were originally set for Oct. 10 and 11 at Gazprom Arena and had already drawn strong criticism from conservative Russian politicians over Ye's past public support for Nazism, which is a criminal offense under Russian law. Gazprom Arena said it had never signed a contract with Say Agency and therefore could not host the performances.
Local media reported the sudden cancellation followed a phone call "from above," suggesting possible direct intervention by the Kremlin. Say Agency later claimed the shows would go ahead as planned, but has since walked back those statements, saying an official announcement on the shows' status would be released Wednesday.
Despite the cancellation, a Turkish agency that organized Ye's May performance in Istanbul still lists a tentative July 10, 2027, date for a Moscow show on its website. Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium said it would be open to hosting a Ye concert following Gazprom Arena's withdrawal.
Ye previously visited Moscow in 2024 to celebrate the birthday of fashion designer and collaborator Gosha Rubchinskiy, a trip that sparked rumors of a possible Luzhniki Stadium show at the time. In recent years, the rapper has repeatedly courted controversy with antisemitic remarks, including expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler, and released a song titled "Heil Hitler" in May 2025.
