Italy Cancels Kanye West Appearance as Rapper’s European Tour Starts Strong in Turkey

Controversial rapper Kanye West, who is fresh off his opening-night performance of his European tour, learned that he won’t be traveling to Italy, where authorities have cancelled a leg of his European tour over security concerns.At Istanbul on Saturday, the performer led an all-night festival-style event that Billboard magazine reports featured DJ sets, laser and light shows, pre- and after-party gatherings, and performances by several popular Turkish artists. The event brought fans from across Turkey as well as from the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Kazakhstan, Germany, and Poland.Mr. West, who goes by the name Ye, said 118,000 were in attendance. He called it the largest stadium concert ever, though he may have been referring to Turkey specifically, as celebrated artists such as Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney, Tina Turner, and the Rolling Stones and even well-known Israel critic Roger Waters have sold out larger events across the globe.The singer who has spouted a multitude of antisemitic comments over the years, wrote a song called “Heil Hitler,” and sold merchandise displaying Nazi symbols and statements has said he doesn’t hate Jews. Instead, he is bipolar. But as he performed for the first time in Turkey, whose president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has repeatedly stated support for Hamas and the desire for Israel’s destruction, Turkish media outlet Kuzay Express suggested that it is Ye’s pro-Palestinian support that drew the crowd. “Due to the support he provided to Palestine, world-renowned rapper Kanye West—whose concerts and events have been banned in some countries—took the stage at Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul for a concert attended by 118,000 people,” the news agency wrote.As he prepared to take the stage, Italian authorities said Mr. West’s July 18 show at the Pulse of Gaia Festival at the RCF Arena at Reggio Emilia will not go on. The city’s prefect, Salvatore Angieri, noted multiple concerns raised by the local Jewish community of Modena and a consumer protection group called Codacons. Another rapper, Travis Scott, who was to appear a day earlier in the same location was also cancelled after officials met to review the ability to police the back-to-back events at the 103,000-capacity stadium. Authorities pointed to concerns raised after a 2021 Texas concert headlining Mr. Scott ended with 10 people dead and 100 injured during a stampede to rush the stage.“Given the close temporal connection between the events and the large crowds expected within 24 hours. The overall assessment also took into account the cancellation of previous concerts by the American rapper in other countries and the real risk of counter-demonstrations,” reads a statement from the prefecture.In April, Ye was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the British government, forcing cancellation of the Wireless Festival where he was headlined to appear. That caused a cascading series of postponements and eventual bans in France and Poland. Mr. West is scheduled to perform two nights on Saturday and Monday at the Dutch city of Arnhem and has additional dates at Madrid; Algarve, Portugal; Tbilisi, Georgia; and Tirana, Albania.“Solid grounds are needed to bar people from entering (the country). We have not found those in the analyses that were conducted,” the Netherland’s deputy prime minister, Bart van den Brink, was quoted by Reuters as saying. “His past statements are not, at this moment, a reason to deny him entry.”“Very sorry and sad that it’s not possible to ban Ye. Painful for the Jewish community and everyone who is against antisemitism. I assume that the police and the Public Prosecution Service will intervene if Ye crosses the line,” wrote a Dutch member of the legislature and the brother of the deputy prime minister, Tijs van den Brink.

Italy Cancels Kanye West Appearance as Rapper’s European Tour Starts Strong in Turkey

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