Wireless Festival, the music fest set to take place this summer in London’s Finsbury Park neighborhood, will no longer happen now that the country has denied headliner Kanye West a visa. “As a result of the Home Office banning YE from entering the United Kingdom, Wireless Festival has been forced to cancel,” a note on the fest’s social media said. “All ticket holders will receive an automatic full refund.” The government decided that an appearance by West, who has made multiple antisemitic statements in recent years, would not benefit the public good, the BBC reported.
Wireless Festival was to take place from July 10 – 12. West, who last performed in the U.K. 11 years ago, was scheduled to headline all three nights of the festival. No other acts had been announced, but a bespoke YeWireless.com website was created to collect info for presales, which began Tuesday.
Reps for West and Wireless Festival did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s requests for comment.
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 was meant to clear the way for a comeback, paving the way for West’s Bully album, which came out in March. “In a way, it is his most human album to date, inasmuch as it proves that even stars as bright as Ye begin to dim with time,” Rolling Stone wrote in a review. Despite a lack of quality and West’s questionable behavior, the album debuted at Number Two on Billboard.
On April 2, West attempted a comeback Los Angeles comeback concert, a performance that Rolling Stone noted was filled with hiccups. He also planned concerts in Mexico and France.
When Wireless Festival was announced, London Mayor Sadiq Khan denounced West’s headlining role. “We are clear that the past comments and actions of this artist are offensive and wrong, and are simply not reflective of London’s values,” a spokesperson for Khan told Rolling Stone on April 1. The booking also prompted outcry from the Jewish Leadership Council, singer-actor Benjamin Haim-Isaac, and actor David Schwimmer.
“It is deeply concerning that Kanye West has been booked to perform at Wireless despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on April 5. “Antisemitism in any form is abhorrent and must be confronted clearly and firmly wherever it appears. Everyone has a responsibility to ensure Britain is a place where Jewish people feel safe and secure.” Pepsi subsequently dropped off as a sponsor.
Melvin Benn, who runs the Wireless Festival, called West’s antisemitism “abhorrent” but asked those who were upset to “offer some forgiveness.” West subsequently offered to meet with London’s Jewish community. “If you’re open, I’m here,” he said in a statement. Hours later, the festival was canceled.
Steve Cohen*
