American rapper and fashion entrepreneur Kanye West has suffered another setback to his international tour plans after Italian authorities blocked two of his scheduled performances.
Officials in the northern Italian city of Reggio Emilia cancelled concerts planned for July 17 and 18, which were expected to feature West alongside fellow American rapper Travis Scott.
The decision was reportedly taken by local prefect Salvatore Angieri, who cited concerns over public safety, security and the possibility of demonstrations surrounding the events.
West has not publicly responded to the latest cancellation, adding to a growing list of disrupted performances linked to the backlash over his past antisemitic remarks and comments viewed as supportive of Nazi ideology.
Italy joins several European countries where planned appearances by the rapper have recently encountered resistance.
Last month, Swiss football club FC Basel withdrew permission for a concert that had been scheduled at St. Jakob-Park.
Club officials said the event was “not in accordance with our values” and announced they would not proceed with the booking after reviewing the situation.
A separate show planned at the Silesian Stadium in Poland was also scrapped. Venue officials cited “due to formal and legal reasons” when announcing the cancellation after criticism from Polish Culture Minister Marta Cienkoska.
“We are talking about an artist who has publicly expressed antisemitic views, downplayed crimes and profited from selling swastika T-shirts,” she said.
“These are not ‘controversies’. This is a deliberate crossing of boundaries and the normalisation of hatred.”
The cancelled appearance would have marked West’s first concert in Poland in 15 years.
The rapper also faced opposition in the United Kingdom, where his planned headline appearance at Wireless Festival generated controversy before authorities reportedly refused him entry into the country.
In France, a concert scheduled for Marseille in June was postponed indefinitely. At the time, French media reported that Interior Minister Laurent Nunez was seeking to prevent the event from taking place.
Announcing the postponement, West wrote: “After much thought and consideration, it is my sole decision to postpone my show in Marseille, France until further notice.”
He later added: “I know it takes time to understand the sincerity of my commitment to make amends.
“I take full responsibility for what’s mine but I don’t want to put my fans in the middle of it. My fans are everything to me. Looking forward to the next shows.”
Despite the growing opposition in some countries, West remains scheduled to perform in the Netherlands next month. Dutch authorities recently stated that there were no legal grounds to prevent his entry.
Migration Minister Bart van den Brink said, “Solid grounds are needed to bar people from entering [the Netherlands]. We have not found those in the analyses that were conducted.
“His past statements are not, at this moment, a reason to deny him entry.”
West has spent much of 2026 attempting to repair his public image. Earlier this year, he issued a public apology for his past antisemitic conduct through a full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal.
In the message, addressed to “Those I’ve Hurt,” the rapper said untreated bipolar disorder had contributed to his behaviour and admitted he had “lost touch with reality.”
