Gazprom Arena Rejects Ye's 2 St Petersburg Shows as Promoter Says Concerts Still Stand
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 25
Gazprom Arena Rejects Ye's 2 St Petersburg Shows as Promoter Says Concerts Still Stand
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 25
Summary
Gazprom Arena said Ye's October 10-11 concerts cannot take place there because no stadium lease was ever signed, even though the venue had earlier promoted the dates.
Say Agency said the shows are not cancelled and claimed it had announced them after Gazprom Arena approved an official letter, but acknowledged the rental contract was still unsigned before its expiry this week.
Tickets had sold out immediately, including seats priced at £1,390 ($1,896), for what would have been the biggest Western act to play Russia since the Ukraine war began.
Ye's Russia plans have drawn backlash after other countries including the UK, Italy, Poland, Switzerland and France blocked concerts over safety concerns tied to his antisemitic and pro-Nazi remarks, despite his January apology.