Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg, Russia, announced that it will not host a concert by American rapper Kanye West, saying in a Telegram statement that it was never the organizer of the event.
The stadium said the Moscow-based Say Agency had been responsible for organizing the concert, and stressed that Gazprom Arena had not signed any contract to rent out the venue for it. It said no such agreement existed, and that as a result the concert could not take place there.
The denial contradicts the venue's own earlier statement. On August 17, Gazprom Arena had said that the rapper's concert would in fact be held at its stadium.
Officials reportedly withheld approval
Russian outlet Rotonda, citing a source in government circles, reported that the concert had not been approved by senior officials. The outlet noted that the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center, a state-run pollster known as VTsIOM, had recently surveyed St Petersburg residents about their attitude toward the concert.
Russian media also reported that Gazprom Arena's website stopped working amid the cancellation news, and that people who had bought tickets were now unable to get refunds.
Organizers say the show will go ahead
Russian outlet Dozhd reported that Say Agency's chief executive, Anna Subcheva, said the venue had not told the agency about any changes. She said the venue had previously sent the agency a contract for the concert that both sides were due to sign by August 27.
She said it was a mystery to her why the cancellation had appeared on the venue's social media, and that the agency was trying to reach Gazprom Arena to clarify the situation because it did not understand what had happened. She said the agency had a signed contract with the artist and that everything had been in order, noting the venue had sent over a contract that was meant to be signed by the 27th.
Kanye West's planned Russia shows
Russian media had earlier reported that Kanye West would perform two concerts in St Petersburg on October 10 and 11, though the rapper himself never officially announced the shows. Say Agency later confirmed the two dates at Gazprom Arena, and tickets sold out almost immediately.
