Kanye West gig to go ahead in Portugal as concert boss defends ‘non issue’

At least one Kanye West show in Europe will go ahead this summer after a string of cancellations, sparked by his recent controversies.

Earlier this month, Wireless Festival was completely cancelled after announcing Ye as their only headliner, only for him to be banned from entering the UK.

Days later, the 48-year-old rapper’s shows in Poland and Switzerland were scrapped, and he postponed a gig in France.

The cancellations came in response to backlash over Ye’s comeback, after years of erratic and offensive behaviour for which he has recently apologised.

Fans in Portugal have now been reassured that his summer gig at the Algarve Stadium is guaranteed to go ahead.

‘It’s a music event that’s going to happen,’ Torcato Jorge, CEO and co-founder of organiser Raya Culture, told Euronews Culture.

He branded the potential cancellation a ‘non-issue’, which had been perpetuated by ‘misinformation’.

‘It would become an issue if the services identified a national threat to public order, which is not the case,’ the founder continued, claiming the show is 70% sold out.

Portuguese authorities have not yet shared a public statement on whether Ye will be granted a visa to perform on August 7, with an application needed at least two months before departure.

However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs told the publication it is ‘closely monitoring the situation’ for any concerns around threats to national security or public order.

The UK Home Office confirmed on April 7 that Ye had been denied his Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) for Wireless Festival in July.

It said the permission had been refused because his ‘presence would not be conducive to the public good’.

The Bully rapper has spent the past several years shunned from mainstream culture over his antisemitic, racist, sexist, and homophobic comments.

However, in Portugal, Jorge insisted the concert would go on, describing banning Ye as a ‘political issue’.

He said: ‘The Security Information Service (SIS) did not identify the artist, or in this case the US citizen, as a national threat or a terrorist. There has to be a state internal security report saying that this citizen cannot enter the country.

‘Each country is free to decide whether or not to allow a citizen to enter, but in the European Union, there has been no country that has vetoed their entry into national territory.’

It was previously reported that France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez was ‘exploring all possibilities’ to block his entry to the country ahead of his Marseille gig.

The city’s mayor, Benoit Payan, declared on X: ‘I refuse to let Marseille be a showcase for those who promote hatred and unapologetic Nazism. Kanye West is not welcome at the Vélodrome, our temple of living together and of all Marseillais.’

Defending Ye, Jorge added that his far-right statements were simply ‘a mistake’ and not reflected in the legacy of his music.

For many, this comeback feels too much, too soon after his first apology, which was published in January.

Just last May, he released a song titled Heil Hitler, as well as wearing and selling a T-shirt with a swastika on it after declaring himself a Nazi.

Ye insisted his apology was sincere, offering to meet with the Jewish community upon his arrival in the UK, which many refused to do.

One community offered to speak with Ye, provided he pulled out of headlining Wireless – with a $15million (£11million) paycheque – but the Home Office made that decision for him.

In a secondary apology in relation to the festival, he wrote: ‘I know words aren’t enough – I’ll have to show change through my actions. If you’re open, I’m here.’

The resounding reaction from the public so far has been that his reconciliation is welcome, just maybe do that before planning a world tour.

Metro has reached out to Raya Culture for comment.

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