Kanye West’s planned concert in Poland this June has been canceled, the latest in a string of European countries blocking the rapper from performing due to his antisemitic comments and praising of Nazism.
West was controversially scheduled to headline all three nights of London’s Wireless festival until his visa was rejected by U.K. officials, resulting in the cancellation of the fest. West was similarly booked to perform in Marseille, France in June before postponing the gig amid backlash and a potential ban from that country.
The rapper was also slated to perform June 19 in Chorzow, Poland, but organizers announced Friday that the gig has been canceled. “We would like to inform you that the Ye (Kanye West) concert planned for 19 June 2026 at the… Slaski stadium will not take place due to formal and legal reasons,” Slaski Stadium Director Adam Strzyzewski said in a statement (via Reuters).
Poland Culture Minister Marta Cienkowska wrote on social media of the planned West gig, “In a country scarred by the history of the Holocaust, we cannot pretend that this is just entertainment. Artistic freedom does not mean giving a free pass to everything. Culture cannot be a space for those who exploit it to spread hatred.”
Cienkowska continued, “We are talking about an artist who has publicly expressed antisemitic views, downplayed crimes, and profited from selling swastika T-shirts. These are not ‘controversies.’ This is a deliberate crossing of boundaries and the normalization of hatred.”
A rep for West did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment. West has not yet commented on the Poland cancellation.
Following the France postponement, the rapper said, “After much thought and consideration, it is my sole decision to postpone my show in Marseille, France until further notice. I know it takes time to understand the sincerity of my commitment to make amends. I take full responsibility for what’s mine but I don’t want to put my fans in the middle of it. My fans are everything to me.”
West launched an apology tour for his past behavior in January with a full-page Wall Street Journal ad. “I owe a huge apology once again for everything that I said that hurt the Jewish and Black communities in particular,” it said. “All of it went too far.” The ad paved the way for his Bully album, which released in March. Despite the rapper’s controversial behavior, he sold out a pair of Los Angeles stadium shows and his album debuted at Number Two on the Billboard 200.
