Kanye West’s planned concerts in Russia have been thrown into uncertainty after St Petersburg’s Gazprom Arena said it would not host the rapper’s scheduled October performances, just days after promoting the shows.
West, who legally changed his name to Ye, was scheduled to perform at the 80,000-capacity stadium on October 10 and 11, 2026.
However, Gazprom Arena said it had not signed a rental agreement with SAY Agency, the Moscow-based company promoting the concerts.
The venue’s reversal has triggered a dispute with the promoter, which insists the shows have not been cancelled and says it is working to resolve the issue.
Gazprom Arena issued a statement after questions emerged over the status of the concerts.
The stadium said it was not responsible for organising the shows and had not signed the necessary agreement allowing SAY Agency to use the venue.
“Gazprom Arena was not and is not the organizer of this event.”
The venue added:
“No such agreement exists. Accordingly, the concert cannot take place at our venue.”
Gazprom Arena also said the promoter had launched advertising and ticket sales without the documents required to hold the event.
The statement came only about a week after the concerts were announced.
Gazprom Arena had previously promoted Ye’s performances on its platforms, describing him as “the most influential musical artist of our time.”
The venue later removed references to the concerts from its website.
SAY Agency has pushed back against the stadium’s announcement, saying the concerts remain on the calendar. Agency chief executive Anna Subcheva said the promoter had acted on the basis of an official letter approved by the venue.
The agency also said it learned that Gazprom Arena would not host the shows through media reports rather than direct communication from the stadium.
Subcheva has maintained that the promoter intends to hold the concerts at Gazprom Arena and expects to complete the formal contract process.
“We will hold this concert. Nobody has cancelled it. It is still absolutely too early to say otherwise.”
She also reportedly told Russian media that the rental agreement was in the agency’s possession and was expected to be signed by August 27.
The conflicting statements have left fans who bought tickets uncertain about whether they will eventually see Ye perform in Russia.
The concerts attracted significant interest after organisers announced the October dates.
SAY Agency said more than 100,000 tickets had been sold for the two shows, demonstrating the scale of demand for Ye’s first major Russian performances.
Subcheva said Ye had already received an advance payment of 1.5 billion rubles, valued at approximately $17.7 million.
Despite the dispute in St Petersburg, Ye’s Russian concerts may not necessarily be dead.
Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow has indicated that it would be open to hosting the rapper, giving SAY Agency a possible alternative if the disagreement with Gazprom Arena cannot be resolved.
For now, though, the promoter insists it wants to proceed with the original venue.
