London Mayor Distances City Government From Kanye West’s First U.K. Concerts in 11 Years: His ‘Past Actions Are Offensive and Wrong’
London Mayor Sadiq Khan is distancing the city’s government from the 2026 Wireless Festival, which announced earlier this week that Kanye West will headline three shows at Finsbury Park on July 10-12.
“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 the Mayor told Variety in a statement. “This was a decision taken by the festival organizers and not one that City Hall is involved in.”
Organizers for the 2026 Wireless Festival touted West’s headlining shows by billing them as the controversial rapper’s first London concerts in more than a decade. The July 10 show will mark West’s “first UK performance in 11 years,” per the festival. Backlash was immediate given the rapper’s history of antisemitic outbursts.
“West has repeatedly used his platform to spread antisemitism and pro-Nazi messaging … Any venue or festival should reconsider before providing their platform to Kanye West to spread his antisemitism,” the Jewish Leadership Council said in a statement to The Guardian, calling the Wireless Festival’s decision to spotlight West as a headliner “deeply irresponsible.”
West recently released his 12th studio album, “Bully,” and will be mounting two concerts at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium on April 1 and April 3. He previously took out a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal in late January to apologize for his antisemitic rants and reveal he’d been getting treatment for a brain condition after suffering “a four-month-long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior that destroyed my life” in 2025.
“I lost touch with reality,” West explained. “Things got worse the longer I ignored the problem. I said and did things I deeply regret. Some of the people I love the most, I treated the worst. You endured fear, confusion, humiliation, and the exhaustion of trying to have someone who was, at times, unrecognizable. Looking back, I became detached from my true self.”
West’s apology letter led to rampant skepticism that the rapper was simply trying to right wrongs before releasing his new album in a blatant attempt to get on the good side of consumers, but he told Vanity Fair a day later that apologizing was not an attempt to “revive” his “commerciality.”
“It’s my understanding that I was in the top 10 most listened-to artists overall in the U.S. on Spotify in 2025, and last week and most days as well. My upcoming album, ‘Bully,’ is currently one of the most anticipated pre-saves of any album on Spotify too. My 2007 album, ‘Graduation,’ was also the most listened-to and streamed hip-hop album of 2025,” Ye wrote to Vanity Fair, implying he did not need to own up to his mistakes in order to sell his new album to the masses.
“This, for me, as evidenced by the letter, isn’t about reviving my commerciality,” he continued. “This is because these remorseful feelings were so heavy on my heart and weighing on my spirit. I owe a huge apology once again for everything that I said that hurt the Jewish and Black communities in particular. All of it went too far. I look at wreckage of my episode and realize that this isn’t who I am. As a public figure, so many people follow and listen to my every word. It’s important that they realize and understand what side of history that I want to stand on. And that is one of love and positivity.”
“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 the Mayor told Variety in a statement. “This was a decision taken by the festival organizers and not one that City Hall is involved in.”
Organizers for the 2026 Wireless Festival touted West’s headlining shows by billing them as the controversial rapper’s first London concerts in more than a decade. The July 10 show will mark West’s “first UK performance in 11 years,” per the festival. Backlash was immediate given the rapper’s history of antisemitic outbursts.
“West has repeatedly used his platform to spread antisemitism and pro-Nazi messaging … Any venue or festival should reconsider before providing their platform to Kanye West to spread his antisemitism,” the Jewish Leadership Council said in a statement to The Guardian, calling the Wireless Festival’s decision to spotlight West as a headliner “deeply irresponsible.”
West recently released his 12th studio album, “Bully,” and will be mounting two concerts at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium on April 1 and April 3. He previously took out a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal in late January to apologize for his antisemitic rants and reveal he’d been getting treatment for a brain condition after suffering “a four-month-long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior that destroyed my life” in 2025.
“I lost touch with reality,” West explained. “Things got worse the longer I ignored the problem. I said and did things I deeply regret. Some of the people I love the most, I treated the worst. You endured fear, confusion, humiliation, and the exhaustion of trying to have someone who was, at times, unrecognizable. Looking back, I became detached from my true self.”
West’s apology letter led to rampant skepticism that the rapper was simply trying to right wrongs before releasing his new album in a blatant attempt to get on the good side of consumers, but he told Vanity Fair a day later that apologizing was not an attempt to “revive” his “commerciality.”
“It’s my understanding that I was in the top 10 most listened-to artists overall in the U.S. on Spotify in 2025, and last week and most days as well. My upcoming album, ‘Bully,’ is currently one of the most anticipated pre-saves of any album on Spotify too. My 2007 album, ‘Graduation,’ was also the most listened-to and streamed hip-hop album of 2025,” Ye wrote to Vanity Fair, implying he did not need to own up to his mistakes in order to sell his new album to the masses.
“This, for me, as evidenced by the letter, isn’t about reviving my commerciality,” he continued. “This is because these remorseful feelings were so heavy on my heart and weighing on my spirit. I owe a huge apology once again for everything that I said that hurt the Jewish and Black communities in particular. All of it went too far. I look at wreckage of my episode and realize that this isn’t who I am. As a public figure, so many people follow and listen to my every word. It’s important that they realize and understand what side of history that I want to stand on. And that is one of love and positivity.”