Kanye West was due to perform at the Marseille Velodrome in June

Kanye West postpones French show amid controversy

· RTE.ie

Rapper Kanye West has postponed a concert in France amid mounting political opposition.

West was due to perform at the Marseille Velodrome on 11 June, but the event faced growing backlash.

The rapper said in a post on X: "After much thought and consideration, it is my sole decision to postpone my show in Marseille, France until further notice."

Earlier this month, West was denied a UK visa, which led to the cancellation of his headline appearances at Wireless Festival following repeated antisemitic remarks.

French interior minister Laurent Nunez on Tuesday told Politico he was "very determined" to prevent the concert from going ahead.

In March, Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan said in a post on X that he refused to let the city "be a showcase for those who promote hatred and unapologetic Nazism".

He added: "Kanye West is not welcome at the Velodrome."

In a follow-up post on X after postponing the show, West said his fans were "everything" to him.

"I know it takes time to understand the sincerity of my commitment to make amends," he said.

"I take full responsibility for what's mine but I don’t want to put my fans in the middle of it."

Separately, Wireless Festival confirmed the cancellation of West’s scheduled performances in London’s Finsbury Park in July, with ticket holders refunded.

London's Wireless Festival was cancelled following the UK government's decision to block Kanye West from travelling to Britain to headline three nights at the event

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the Gold Digger rapper, who has used Nazi imagery and faced accusations of antisemitism, should never have been invited to headline the festival.

West made an application to travel to the UK via an electronic travel authorisation, but the Home Office stopped him on the grounds that his presence in the UK would "not be conducive to the public good", the Press Association understands.

West’s ETA was initially granted online before ministers intervened, it is understood.

In January, West took out a full-page advert in the Wall Street Journal to apologise, titled: "To Those I’ve Hurt."

"I am not a Nazi or an antisemite," it said.

"I love Jewish people."

In his letter, he said his bipolar disorder led him to fall into "a four-month-long, manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour that destroyed my life".

Source: Press Association