Wireless Festival organizers have reflected on the “lesson” they took away after this year’s event was canceled due to Kanye West’s ban from entering the UK.
Earlier this year, Ye was announced as the headliner for a planned three-night run at the UK festival. The event was later called off after he was denied entry into the country because of his history of antisemitic remarks, despite the rapper-producer issuing an apology in a full-page WSJ advertisement in January.
In a statement addressing the cancellation of his Wireless Festival performances, the 24-time Grammy winner said he hoped to “present a show of change, bringing unity, peace, and love.”
“I would be grateful for the opportunity to meet with members of the Jewish community in the UK in person, to listen. I know words aren’t enough — I’ll have to show change through my actions. If you’re open, I’m here,” Ye added.
The decision to have Ye headline the festival faced backlash, with major sponsors including Pepsi, Diageo, and Rockstar Energy withdrawing their support. In a recent interview with NME, Reading & Leeds managing director Melvin Benn discussed accepting the decision to cancel this year’s Wireless Festival.
“Timing, I think, is an important lesson,” Benn told the outlet. “I would hope that other people learn the lesson of forgiveness, because forgiveness is an important part of being a decent human being, in my view. So I do think that is a lesson, but that’s not my lesson.”
“I think timing is an important one, but Wireless will return. We’re very confident about that,” he continued.
Since April, Kanye West has continued performing internationally, kicking things off with two shows at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, where he was joined by his daughter North West, Lauryn Hill, Travis Scott, and others. His tour is set to continue on July 30 in Madrid, Spain, with more dates scheduled before wrapping up in September with two shows in Chicago.
