London Mayor Criticises Kanye West Wireless Festival Booking

The mayor of London has spoken out against the decision for a major music festival in the city to book Ye, the rapper previously known as Kanye West, as its headliner for this year.

On Monday, it was announced that the All Of The Lights musician would be headlining all three nights at Wireless festival, which will take place at London’s Finsbury Park in July.

Immediately, this decision was met with backlash due to the controversy surrounding Ye in recent history, namely around a slew of antisemitic comments he made last year, including praise for Adolf Hitler and declaring himself to be a Nazi.

Groups including the Jewish Leadership Council, the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism and Board Of Deputies Of British Jews all condemned the booking, with the president of the latter going as far as questioning whether the government should be “blocking” Ye from “entering the country”.

On Wednesday, Sadiq Khan also said in a statement: “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.

“This was a decision taken by the festival organisers and not one that City Hall is involved in.”

HuffPost UK has contacted Wireless for comment.

In 2025, Ye’s Australian travel visa was revoked in light of a single he released titled Heil Hilter, which was banned by YouTube, Spotify and Apple, among other music streaming services.

His online store on the platform Shopify had previously been pulled when he began selling a t-shirt emblazoned with a swastika and a slogan alluding to Hitler’s Nazi party.

Earlier this year, Ye took out a full-page advert in the Wall Street Journal to apologise for his past antisemitism, claiming his actions came about at a time in which he’d “lost touch with reality” as a result of his bipolar disorder.

He also maintained that he’s neither a “Nazi” nor an “antisemite” (and, in fact, “loves Jewish people”) and apologised specifically to those within the Black community who feel that he “let them down” with his actions.

Following this, he dismissed the suggestion that this apology was a “PR move” to allow him to return to releasing music and carrying out his numerous businesses.

“[This] isn’t about reviving my commerciality. This is because these remorseful feelings were so heavy on my heart and weighing on my spirit,” he said during an interview.

Last week, Ye released his 12th studio album Bully, which was reported by the Official Charts Company to be on course to debut at number 11 in the UK albums chat.

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