Rapper Ye to Perform Two Shows in St. Petersburg in October
Rapper Ye, formerly Kanye West, will hold two concerts in St. Petersburg in October, promoter Say Agency announced. The booking comes despite the artist's recent history of antisemitic remarks and canceled shows across Europe.
American rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is scheduled to perform two concerts in St. Petersburg this October. Russian event promoter Say Agency announced the shows on Monday, set for Oct. 10 and 11 at Gazprom Arena, a venue with capacity for around 80,000 spectators. Tickets are already on sale, ranging from 9,000 rubles (about $106) to 160,000 rubles (about $1,880) for VIP boxes.
Say Agency is one of Russia's leading promoters of international music acts, having previously brought performers such as Lil Pump, Flo Rida, Akon and Jason Derulo to the country.
Part of a regional tour
The St. Petersburg dates follow a string of major appearances by Ye across the region, including a record-setting concert in Istanbul that drew 118,000 fans, a show in Tbilisi attended by 70,000 people, and a recent August performance in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Ye has ties to Russia going back to 2024, when he visited Moscow to celebrate the birthday of fashion designer and collaborator Gosha Rubchinskiy, a trip that fueled rumors of a possible concert at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.
Controversial background
In recent years, Ye has faced widespread criticism over antisemitic statements, including repeated expressions of admiration for Adolf Hitler and the May 2025 release of a song titled "Heil Hitler." In April, he was denied entry to the United Kingdom because of these remarks, and several of his European shows, including in Italy and Poland, have since been canceled. The planned Russian concerts stand out given the Kremlin's official stance of fighting "neo-Nazism" in Ukraine and its emphasis on defending the historical memory of the Soviet victory in World War II.
