Controversial rapper Kanye West’s performance in Italy has been postponed due to a train strike and bad weather, Web can exclusively reveal.
West was scheduled to perform at the open-air venue in Reggio Emilia on Friday and organizers had held talks with local authorities about the performance last week.
The event was originally scheduled to take place on October 20th, but with 100,000 fans expected and a rail strike planned on the Italian rail network, it was decided to postpone the event.
Officials also took into account that heavy rain was forecast in the area on Friday evening and that without shelter, the open-air venue was in danger of becoming a mud bath.
A spokesman for the prefecture of Reggio Emilia said: “Given the fact that a railway strike was planned for the same day and heavy rain is imminent, it was considered advisable to postpone the event.”
EXCLUSIVE: Kanye West’s controversial Italy performance, scheduled to take place on Friday, has been postponed following protests from war veterans who criticized him for praising Hitler
Will still be carried out: “The organizers have been given an alternative date, October 27th, and we are waiting to hear back as to whether this is acceptable to them.”
“Our aim is to ensure everyone’s safety and if there is a transport issue the concert cannot take place safely and as it is outdoors the forecast of heavy rain would also have caused problems.”
“The organizers have been given an alternative date of October 27th and we are waiting to hear back as to whether this is acceptable to them.”
Security is expected to be tight as Web highlighted how local veterans groups were upset that the appearance was even touted as West praising Adolf Hitler and Nazism.
In a shock interview last year, West said: “Every person brought something valuable, especially Hitler.”
“I love Jews, but I also love Nazis.” “There are many things I love about Hitler, many things, I like Hitler, I am a Nazi.”
Albertina Soliani, vice-president of the National Association of Italian Partisans (ANPI), stormed: “It’s time to say enough to these people who think they can say whatever they want.”
“Someone can be a fantastic singer but they are also judged by what they say and West has made some inhumane statements and given what is happening in the world today we cannot accept this concert.”
“We focus every day on advocating certain values, namely freedom and democracy, and then we just have to start all over again.”
In an interview last year, West said: “Every person brought something valuable with them, especially Hitler (Kanye pictured arriving at Milan Fashion Week in September)
His love: West – who has now changed his name to Ye – has been on an extended holiday in Italy with his Australian wife Bianca Censori since August
“In my opinion he should stay at home. Reggio Emilia has always valued people who fought for certain principles and we are on the side of the oppressed and not on the side of those who preach hate.”
Ermete Fiaccadori, ANPI regional president for Reggio Emilia, criticized West, saying: “First I just want to say that I hope this concert doesn’t happen. This artist has a large following of young people, but his message is disturbing.”
“I am speechless that he cannot understand what he is saying and conveys a gross misunderstanding of what Adolf Hitler was throughout history.”
“I’m all for artistic freedom, but what Kanye West says and does shocks me.”
“As an organization, we strongly condemn this concert and are very concerned about the message it conveys.”
“And before anyone says it: This is not censorship because we are all for freedom, but we are talking about a concert that is completely out of order.”
“Reggio has a long history of fighting against the ideas of Adolf Hitler, and many lost their lives as a result.”
West, 46, has been in Italy with Australian-Italian woman Bianca Censori, 28, since August and is said to be working on a new album in a recording studio in Milan.
In March 1944, the Nazis murdered 24 people, including the village priest, in Cervarolo, just 40 miles from Reggio Emilia, in retaliation for partisan activities.
In a harsh editorial on its website, ReggioOnline criticized the idea of the appearance, saying: “Do we really want this?” and highlighted how the star has been embroiled in controversy since his stay in Italy.
It added: “West is able to sell thousands of tickets in just minutes, move enormous amounts of money and create an event that reaches millions of people overnight via streaming.”
“Is it right for Kayne West to sing in Reggio Emilia in the name of art and its ability to attract large audiences?”
“This is a city that takes its students on remembrance trips to the death camps so that these atrocities are never repeated.”
“This is a city where the values of personhood, human dignity and respect for others are not questioned and are remembered.”
“This is the city where children are not sent to burn in the ovens, but are nurtured through an education system that the world copies from us.”
“Many justifications can be put forward in the name of money: from the phrase “If he didn’t sing in Reggio, he would sing somewhere else” to the more subtle: “All artists sing questionable phrases”.
Not happy: Local veterans groups representing former partisans who fought against the Nazis and Hitler as well as Italian dictator Benito Mussolini blasted the concert
Big project: Trucks have been coming and going from the RCF Arena in Reggio Emilia, near Bologna, for several days and on Thursday a private jet landed on a nearby runway and a car with blacked-out windows was seen heading to the venue
“When West appears in Reggio Emilia, he will certainly be subject to the logic of a market that pays attention not to what is sung but to what it produces.”
“However, do not forget that when words are dangerous and violent, they not only make money but also damage the brains of many people. But that is obviously of little or no interest.”
Last year, West released an album called Donda, named after his mother, and he is said to be working on the follow-up in Italy.
Music forums suggested that if the concert is not approved, it will be a “listening event” where it will not perform in front of a live audience but will be streamed online.
Donda – West’s tenth album – was named after his mother Donda C West, who died in 2007 at just 58 years old.
West last performed live in Italy in August, when he appeared in front of 60,000 fans at a Travs Scott gig in Rome – and it was his first appearance since he made a barrage of anti-Semitic comments.
Dressed all in black and barefoot, West sang Donda’s “Praise God” as well as his 2007 anthem “Can’t Tell Me Nothing.”
This concert made headlines after 60 people were hospitalized when pepper spray was released, while locals feared an earthquake as jumping fans triggered strong vibrations measuring 1.3 magnitude.