Kanye West announces tour dates in Russia
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- Kanye West announced two October shows at St Petersburg's 70,000-capacity Gazprom Arena, becoming the biggest Western star to play Russia since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
- Gazprom Arena tickets sold out within hours of Monday's announcement, priced from 9,000 to 160,000 roubles (£78 to £1,394), per the source.
- West is attempting to rehabilitate his image after a January Wall Street Journal apology blaming a "four-month-long manic episode" and bipolar disorder for antisemitic remarks, including a song titled "Heil Hitler."
- West's European summer tour faltered after the UK Home Office denied him entry — scrapping his Wireless Festival headlining slot — though shows in Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Turkey and Albania went ahead.
- In Madrid, up to 60% of the audience were foreigners who couldn't see him in their home countries, per national broadcaster RTVE; the reviewer called the show "spectacular."
- Conservative Russian lawmaker Vitaly Milonov publicly urged West to perform traditional Russian songs; few Western acts have toured Russia during the war beyond B-list names like Tyga, DaBaby, Akon and Lil Pump.
Why it matters: Kanye's two sold-out shows at the 70,000-capacity Gazprom Arena make him the biggest Western artist to play Russia since the 2022 invasion, with top tickets priced at £1,394 — a rare large-scale commercial test of Russian demand for major Western acts. Conservative lawmaker Milonov's endorsement signals the optics Moscow wants to claim from the visit, while most Western labels remain absent.
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