Kanye WestA day after Wireless Festival organisers defended their decision to book Kanye West – now performing as Ye – as one of this year’s headliners, the festival has been cancelled.
The decision was made after it was announced that West would be banned from the UK, following years of support for Nazism and antisemitism, even releasing a song called Heil Hitler last year, which led to his visa being denied to enter Australia.
Even without the rapper’s visa getting denied, the festival would have struggled after losing sponsors, including Pepsi, PayPal, and Rockstar Energy, due to Ye’s booking.
One of the loudest critics against Ye performing at the London festival was UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who commented that it was “deeply concerning” to see Ye headline the event “despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism.”
The BBC also reported that ministers were “considering” granting the rapper a visa, a decision that has since been denied.
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“As a result of the Home Office banning Ye from entering the United Kingdom, Wireless Festival has been forced to cancel,” a statement from the festival reads, per Brooklyn Vegan. “As with every Wireless Festival, multiple stakeholders were consulted in advance of booking Ye, and no concerns were highlighted at the time.”
The statement continued, “Antisemitism in all its forms is abhorrent, and we recognise the real and personal impact these issues have had. As Ye said today, he acknowledges that words alone are not enough, and in spite of this still hopes to be given the opportunity to begin a conversation with the Jewish community in the UK.”
The festival also assured ticket holders that they’d receive “an automatic full refund.”
The BBC notes that pre-sale tickets for the festival, which was also set to host Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, Young Thug, Skepta, and many others, sold out upon their release on Tuesday (7 April). The general sale would have opened today.
West reportedly applied on Monday to travel to the UK by submitting an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). The Home Office told the BBC that declining permission “was made on the grounds that his presence would not be conducive to the public good.”
In a statement, Ye said he “would be grateful” to meet members of the Jewish community in the UK “to listen” to what they had to say, per the BBC.
He added, “I know words aren’t enough. I’ll have to show change through my actions. If you’re open, I’m here.”
Earlier this year, West walked back his past comments and actions by publishing a full-page apology in the Wall Street Journal.
In the apology, he wrote that he was “not a Nazi or an anti-Semite,” citing his diagnosis of bipolar disorder for his spiral into controversial behaviours over the years. He said he was “deeply mortified” by his actions.
