The stadium released a statement saying: “Accordingly, the concert cannot take place on our site.”
It also said that it was not responsible for the booking, and that it was organised by the Moscow-based Say Agency.
However, the Say Agency, posting on its Telegram channel, said the stadium’s announcement had come as a surprise.
"We learned about [it] at the same time as you did, through the media," it said.
"As of now, the Ye concert has not been cancelled," it added .
“We are trying to contact the venue to find out the reason for the [statement] and resolve the issue,” it said.
The Gazprom Arena in Saint Petersburg (Photo by OLGA MALTSEVA/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images
Say Agency claim the stadium sent a rental agreement, and acknowledged the contract had not yet been signed but said the deadline to do this was later this week, the BBC reported.
The Gazprom Arena, the home of the football team Zenit St Petersburg, had posted about the upcoming concerts last week, calling West: “The most influential musical artist of our time.”
Whilst there is no evidence of political interference in the arena’s change of plans, the BBC cited Vitaly Milonov, a conservative lawmaker, who recently suggested that West should perform traditional Russian songs instead of what he had planned.
Milonov said in a video statement seen by the broadcaster: “Maybe after this he'll stop his disgusting antics and become a normal person.”
In October 2022, in a post on X, West said he was going to go “death con 3 on Jewish people [sic]”, and he later denied the Holocaust on a far-right talk show.
Last spring, he released the track Heil Hitler, which contained an extract of a speech from the Nazi leader. This followed the sale on his website of T-shirts featuring a swastika.
His comments led to him being dropped by commercial partners, most notably Adidas.
He has issued multiple apologies over the years and blamed his behaviour on mental illness caused by a previous head injury.
In January, West took out a full-page advert in the Wall Street Journal to apologise for his behaviour.
The advert, which took the form of a letter to “those I have hurt”, attributed his actions to bipolar disorder, resulting from an injury from a car accident that had only been diagnosed years later.
In early 2025, he fell into “a four-month long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour that destroyed my life,” he said.
In that “fractured state”, he explained, “I gravitated toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika, and even sold T-shirts bearing it...
“I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change. It does not excuse what I did though. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.”
West has seen his concerts cancelled in several countries including France, Italy and the UK.
The concert cancelled in the UK was Finsbury Park’s Wireless Festival, which was due to take place in June.
Jewish leaders and MPs from across the political spectrum had condemned his planned visit to the UK, which would have been his first since 2015.
West had offered to meet with the Jewish community to “listen” to their concerns prior to the show.
However, the Home Office announced it had denied West permission to enter the UK on the basis that his presence would not have been conducive to the public good.
Due to the late decision to bar West, who was the headliner, from performing, the entire festival ended up being called off.
Calls were also made to cancel his performance in the Netherlands, at the GelreDome in the city of Arnhem, also in June - however the calls were unsuccessful and the concert went ahead, bringing in a crowd of around 40,000.
