Italian authorities canceled concerts that rappers Kanye West (now known as Ye) and Travis Scott had scheduled for July in the northern city of Reggio Emilia, citing security concerns.

West was set to headline the Hellwatt Festival on July 18 at the RCF Arena, a 103,000-seat venue, which would have been one of his biggest performances there. Scott, for his part, would perform on July 17 on the same stage; His concert was also canceled for security reasons, not because of a ban on performing in the country.

The prefect of Reggio Emilia, Salvatore Angieri, announced the cancellation order on Saturday following requests from the local Jewish community, anti-fascist groups, unions and politicians, who had requested in April the suspension of West's show due to his anti-Semitic comments.

Angieri pointed out the coincidence of the two concerts, the massive influx expected in less than 24 hours and the “concrete risk” of protests as reasons for the double cancellation.

A next try

Despite the decision, the Hellwatt Festival team indicated on social media that they will try to bring Kanye West to Italy on July 18 at a location near Reggio Emilia, but under a different jurisdiction.

West, who has said “I love Nazis” on social media, sold T-shirts with swastikas and last year released a song titled “Heil Hitler,” has faced bans and canceled concerts in the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland and Poland. In January, he published a full-page apology in the Wall Street Journal, attributing his behavior to manic episodes caused by his bipolar disorder.

Meanwhile, on Saturday night, West kicked off his European summer tour with a massive concert at Istanbul's Atatürk Olympic Stadium, which reportedly drew 118,000 people, a figure he called the largest stadium performance in history.

At that event, Scott shared the stage and the two performed their collaboration “Father,” from West’s latest album, “Bully.” Despite the British government blocking his entry and several European countries following suit, fans from the UK, US, Germany, Poland, Russia and Kazakhstan traveled to Istanbul to see him, according to organizer Erdem Karahan.

Travis Scott is still reeling from controversy over his tragic 2021 concert at Houston's Astroworld festival, where ten people were crushed to death in a crowd.

The remainder of West's European tour includes scheduled performances in the Netherlands (June 6-8), Tirana, Albania (July 11), and Prague (July 25).