Kanye West postpones France concert after reports of interior minister’s intent to block event
Kanye West took to social media on Wednesday to announce that he has postponed his upcoming concert in Marseille, France, after it was reported that the country’s interior minister is exploring the possibility of blocking the event because of the controversial rapper’s past antisemitic comments.
The concert was initially scheduled to take place at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille on June 11. But it is currently unclear if that will ultimately happen.
“After much thought and consideration, it is my sole decision to postpone my show in Marseille, France until further notice,” Kanye, 48, shared on X.
This recent development came after Kanye was blocked from entering the UK following backlash over the decision for him to headline Wireless Festival, Face2Face Africa previously reported. The London festival was also cancelled, with refunds being issued to those who had already bought tickets.
According to the Home Office, the rapper applied to travel to the UK via an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). It, however, denied him permission because his presence would not be conducive to the public good, the Home Office said, according to the BBC.
On Tuesday, a close source to France’s interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, told Agence France-Presse that he was “highly determined” to block the concert and was looking at “all possibilities,” The Guardian reported.
Nuñez is said to have visited Marseille last week, and the source said that he had a conversation about the concert’s cancellation with the regional prefect as well as the city’s mayor.
Kanye postponing his concert also came after the mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan, took to X to state that the controversial rapper was “not welcome at the Vélodrome.”
“I refuse to let Marseille be a showcase for those who promote hatred and unapologetic Nazism,” he posted on X last month. “Kanye West is not welcome at the Vélodrome, our temple of living together and of all Marseillais.”
Kanye has, in recent times, sparked anger over his antisemitic and pro-Nazi comments. The College Dropout rapper came under intense scrutiny a few years ago when he openly expressed his support for Nazi Germany’s leader and dictator, Adolf Hitler.
Besides making several antisemitic comments on social media as time went by, he also went as far as selling T-shirts emblazoned with swastikas on his website. In 2025, he released a controversial song titled, Heil Hitler.
