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Kanye West schedules two St Petersburg concerts
Kanye West will play two sold-out shows at St Petersburg's Gazprom Arena on 10 and 11 October.
What happened
Kanye West, who also performs as Ye, announced two October concerts at Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg. The venue's tickets sold out within hours. The dates follow cancellations of parts of his European tour after antisemitic and pro-Nazi remarks, for which he apologised in January.
Numbers
- 2 concertsShows scheduled in St Petersburg
- 10–11 OctoberConcert dates announced by organisers
- 9,000–160,000 roublesReported ticket price range
Questions
- Why are the dates unusual?
- They would make West the biggest Western performer to play Russia since the invasion of Ukraine began there.
- What disrupted his European tour?
- Concerts in France, Poland, Italy and the Czech Republic were cancelled after objections to his antisemitic and pro-Nazi remarks.
- How did Britain respond?
- The UK denied West entry on public-good grounds, cancelling Wireless Festival, where he had been due to headline.
- Who performed there before the war?
- Red Hot Chili Peppers and Muse were among artists who played Russia before international record companies suspended local operations.
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The catch
Coverage differs on arena capacity and gives no verified total for tickets sold.