Wireless festival cancelled after Kanye West banned from entering UK
Source: The Guardian
Wireless festival cancelled after Kanye West banned from entering UK
Rapper had been booked to play at festival in London, prompting outcry over his past antisemitic remarks
Jamie Grierson, Rajeev Syal and Lanre Bakare
Tue 7 Apr 2026 19.58 BST
First published on Tue 7 Apr 2026 13.40 BST
The Wireless music festival has been cancelled after the artist formerly known as Kanye West was banned from entering the UK amid a deepening political row over his previous antisemitic statements.
West, legally known as Ye, was due to headline all three days of the festival in July and made an application to travel to the UK via an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) on Monday, but this was blocked by officials.
A spokesperson for the London festival confirmed it would no longer go ahead in July and said refunds would be issued to customers who had already bought tickets.
The statement issued on Tuesday said: “The Home Office has withdrawn Ye’s ETA, denying him entry into the United Kingdom. As a result, Wireless festival is cancelled and refunds will be issued to all ticket holders.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/apr/07/home-office-bans-kanye-west-from-entering-uk-wireless-festival