MOSCOW  –  The Russian stadium that was sched­uled to host two shows by Ye, the rap­per also known as Kanye West, has said the events will no longer take place. In a social media post, St Petersburg’s Gazprom Arena said no rental agree­ment had been signed with the concert promoters. “Accordingly, the concert cannot take place on our site.” West would have been the first major West­ern performer to play Russia since it invaded Ukraine in 2022. The rapper is trying to rehabilitate his image after years of antisemitic remarks, for which he recently apologised. Gazprom Are­na acknowledged it had received com­plaints about West’s planned appear­ance and stressed that it “was not and is not” responsible for his booking. The stadium said in its statement that the sold-out concerts, scheduled for 10 and 11 October, had been organised by the Moscow-based Say Agency. Posting on its Telegram channel, Say Agency said the stadium’s announcement had come as a surprise. “We learned about [it] at the same time as you did, through the media,” the agency wrote. “As of now, the Ye concert has not been canceled,” it added in a follow-up message. “We are trying to contact the venue to find out the reason for the post and resolve the issue. We will keep you updated.” The BBC has contacted West’s publicist for a comment on the uncertainty over his Russian shows. In its statement, Say Agency said it announced the concerts earlier this month based “on an official letter that was approved by” Gazprom Arena. The stadium subsequently sent a rental agreement, Say Agency claimed, and the agency acknowledged the contract had not yet been signed but said the deadline to do so did not expire until later this week. Last week, Gazprom Arena had posted enthusi­astically about the concerts on social media, calling Ye “the most influential musical artist of our time”. Fans react­ed to its latest announcement with dis­appointment. “This was the shortest concert of my life,” responded one, un­der Say Agency’s Telegram post. “It’s a shame that the government is putting obstacles in your way,” added another. There is no indication that authori­ties intervened in the shows, but there has been opposition to West’s book­ing from some Russian politicians. Vi­taly Milonov, a notorious conservative lawmaker, suggested the star should perform traditional Russian songs in­stead of his planned setlist, reflecting the anti-Western views of many na­tionalists. “Maybe after this he’ll stop his disgusting antics and become a normal person,” Milonov added in a video statement. West’s antisemitic re­marks began in 2022, when he made a series of offensive comments on social media that led to his accounts being suspended. Fashion brands like Adidas and Balenciaga also ended their rela­tionships with the star. The musician went on to declare he was “a Nazi”, releasing a song called Heil Hitler and selling T-shirts featuring the swastika. This January, West apologised in a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal, writing: “I am not a Nazi or an antisemite.” Reflecting on a “four-month-long manic episode of psychot­ic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour”, he said he was “deeply mortified” by his actions and that his bipolar dis­order meant “you’re manic [and] you don’t think you’re sick”. However, some questioned the timing of his statement – which coincided with the release of a new album, Bully, and the start of his world tour. He held his first major con­cert in the United States in more than five years in Los Angeles in April, but planned shows in England, France, Ita­ly and Poland have been cancelled over his past behaviour.