Kanye West is officially preparing for his return to Tampa, marking his first performance in the city in nearly ten years.
The artist now known as Ye is set to perform at Raymond James Stadium on June 26. While full details surrounding the concert remain under wraps, a message posted on tour.yeezy.com suggests that some fans who pre-register for ticket access could be selected to receive free tickets.
The upcoming performance will be Ye’s first show in the Tampa area since September 2016, when his Saint Pablo Tour stopped at what was then known as Amalie Arena.
The concert announcement arrives after a highly controversial period for the rapper, whose past antisemitic remarks and Nazi-related imagery continue to spark backlash despite a public apology.
Over the past few months, Ye has reportedly seen multiple performances across Europe canceled and has also faced travel restrictions in countries including the United Kingdom and Australia.
One of the latest cancellations reportedly happened in New Delhi, where Ye had been scheduled to perform at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. On May 15, Indian officials raised concerns over potential terrorism threats in and around Delhi, although authorities did not specify whether the warnings were directly connected to Ye’s planned appearance.
Despite the setbacks, Ye is still expected to perform in Tirana on July 11. Back in April, Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama confirmed the concert would move forward even as criticism surrounding Ye’s past comments continued to grow.
According to Albanian officials, the event will reportedly be funded entirely through ticket sales rather than public money.
Not everyone in Albania is happy about the decision, though. Isa Myzraj, head of the Association of Journalists of Albania, criticized the move, saying: “It is incomprehensible why the Prime Minister decides to provoke [people] by promoting Kanye West.”
Ye’s apology tour has also continued to face skepticism from celebrities and critics alike. During a recent Netflix Is A Joke event, Seth Rogen took aim at the rapper over his controversial track “Heil Hitler.”
“What’s funny is I’ve said critical things about Jewish people; I think I got in more trouble than Kanye West did,” Rogen joked. “I got a lot of shit for what I said. I have no number one albums. I sometimes think what Adolf Hitler would think of the Kanye West song ‘Heil Hitler.’ I bet he’d be torn.”
Later in the show, Jon Stewart echoed similar criticism.
“But seriously, fuck that guy,” Stewart said. “He was like, ‘Hitler was misunderstood, we’ve got to forgive Hitler.’ And I’m like, I don’t think I need to listen to anybody who thinks Hitler needs to be forgiven but is still mad at Pete Davidson.”
