Kanye West‘s Wireless Festival appearance has been cancelled after the rapper was blocked from travelling to the UK by the government.
The rapper, who now goes by Ye, was announced last week as the headliner for all three nights of the festival in London’s Finsbury Park in July, with the shows being described as a three-night journey through his “most iconic records”.
The booking has prompted widespread criticism, including from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who said it is “deeply concerning that Kanye West has been booked to perform at Wireless despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism”.
A series of festival sponsors have also cut their ties with Wireless as a result, including Pepsi, drinks giant Diageo, PayPal and Rockstar Energy, piling enormous pressure on the festival to take action.
Now, the Home Office claims the rapper made an application to travel to the UK yesterday (April 6) via an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), which has been refused.
It said the decision to refuse permission was made on the grounds that his presence would not be conducive to the public good.
As a result his concerts at Wireless have now been cancelled.
“The Home Office has withdrawn YE’s ETA, denying him entry into the United Kingdom. As a result, Wireless Festival is cancelled and refunds will be issued to all ticket holders,” said a spokesperson for the festival in a statement.
“As with every Wireless Festival, multiple stakeholders were consulted in advance of booking YE and no concerns were highlighted at the time.”
It added: “Antisemitism in all its forms is abhorrent, and we recognise the real and personal impact these issues have had. As YE said today, he acknowledges that words alone are not enough, and in spite of this still hopes to be given the opportunity to begin a conversation with the Jewish community in the UK.”
NME has contacted a spokesperson for West for further comment.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism backed the government’s decision to block the rapper from entering the UK.
“The Government has clearly made the right decision here. For once, when it said that antisemitism has no place in the UK, it backed up its words with action,” they added.
“Someone who has boasted of making tens of millions of dollars from selling swastika t-shirts and who released a song called ‘Heil Hitler’ just months ago clearly would not be conducive to the public good in the UK. Wireless Festival, in its desperate quest for profit, defended the invitation until the end. That is shameful, and its sponsors should continue to stay away.”
It comes after West shared a fresh apology following the controversy around his forthcoming headline slot only this morning (April 7).
West addressed the controversy directly in a new update to his Wall Street Journal “to those I’ve hurt” letter, which he originally shared in January.
“I’ve been following the conversation around Wireless and want to address it directly,” West wrote. “My only goal is to come to London and present a show of change, bringing unity, peace, and love through music.
“I would be grateful for the opportunity to meet with members of the Jewish community in the UK in person, to listen. I know words aren’t enough – I’ve have to show change through my actions. If you’re open, I’m here. With Love.”
The post also included his original lengthy message in which he explained his erratic and controversial behaviour in recent years.
Multiple Jewish groups have responded to West’s offer to meet and discuss his history of antisemitic comments, but still said he should not play at Wireless Festival.
West’s history of making antisemitic remarks dates back to 2022, when he made a series of offensive comments on social media. Those comments saw his accounts on both Instagram and Twitter suspended, and the musician was dropped by his lawyer, talent agency and record label, along with fashion brands such as Balenciaga and Adidas.
At first, West gave several interviews refusing to apologise for making the comments while suggesting that Jewish people should “forgive Hitler”. However, in 2023, West delivered an apology to the Jewish community, going on to blame alcohol for his behaviour the following year.
In the wake of that initial apology, numerous lawsuits were filed against the rapper with claims of extensive antisemitic behaviour. One former employee alleged that the rapper said Jewish people were “working together to hold him back”.
Another former employee claimed he used antisemitic language in the workplace and praised Hitler – something for which he allegedly paid a settlement for. In 2024, a separate ex-employee accused him of being openly antisemitic in front of his staff.
West also shared a number of highly controversial posts in early 2025, when he took back an apology he previously made to the Jewish community for antisemitic remarks, and then declared himself “a Nazi”. The rapper then claimed on X/Twitter that, “after further reflection”, he’d “come to the realisation that I’m not a Nazi”, followed only a few days later by yet more swastika apparel appearing on his X page.
West has since apologised for his actions by meeting with a rabbi and taking out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal broadcasting a separate apology.
As well as the Prime Minister, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has also spoken out against the decision to book Ye at Wireless, as have groups including the Jewish Leadership Council and the Campaign Against Antisemitism.
Yesterday, Sajid Javid, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer and current chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, also condemned the festival for booking West, and said he was “certain” the Home Secretary would stop the rapper from entering the UK if Wireless didn’t cancel the shows.
Melvin Benn, the managing director of Festival Republic, which co-promotes Wireless alongside Live Nation, described West’s past antisemitic remarks as “abhorrent”, but called on people to “offer some forgiveness” last night.
Actor David Schwimmer has since taken to social media to publicly condemn Kanye West’s booking for London’s Wireless Festival.
This a developing story.
