Italian authorities announced on Friday that they were cancelling Kanye West and Travis Scott’s concerts. The two rappers were slated to perform at the Pulse of Gaia Festival in Reggio Emilia, with Travis Scott’s show being on July 17th at the RCF Arena and West’s show being the following day.
The cancellations were due to concerns about public order and security, raised by the consumer group CODACONS and the Jewish communities in Reggio Emilia and Modena, as reported by Stereogum. The shows’ close timing and the high influx of spectators were also factored in when Italian authorities decided to ban the two artists.
This decision comes after a series of show cancellations for Ye. He was blocked from entering the UK earlier this year, in April, which cancelled the Wireless Festival in London, and he cancelled his shows in France and Poland after the authorities suggested potential bans. His previous history of antisemitic comments was the catalyst for many of these bans. At the beginning of this year, the rapper apologized for his comments. The ban also comes about five years after the deadly Astroworld tragedy, where several people died at a Travis Scott’s Houston concert.
Despite the pattern of cancellations, the Netherlands has said that West is still cleared to perform his June 6 and 8 shows in the city of Arnhem, adding that they have no legal grounds to deny him entry into the country.
Photo credit: Brandy Hornback
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