How did a festival get it so wrong over Kanye West?

Industry experts say booking the controversial US rapper was a calculated risk that will have major implications for other music events

- By Eamonn Forde and Sarah Butler

The fallout over Wireless announcing Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) as its 2026 headliner was both swift and considerable.

On 5 April, major sponsors of the three-day festival, including Pepsi and Diageo, began to pull out after a huge backlash over Ye’s antisemitic comments about the Jewish community and the Holocaust. Jewish groups threatened to protest if the shows went ahead.

Keir Starmer called the decision to book the rapper who wrote a song titled Heil Hitler “deeply concerning”. By last Tuesday, the event, which was scheduled to take place at Finsbury Park, north London, on 10-12 July, had been cancelled after the government refused him entry to the country.

Wireless issued a statement saying: “The Home Office has withdrawn Ye’s ETA [visa], denying him entry into the UK. As a result, Wireless festival is cancelled and refunds will be issued to all ticket holders.

“As with every Wireless festival, multiple stakeholders were consulted in advance of booking Ye and no concerns were highlighted at the time. Antisemitism in all its forms is abhorrent, and we recognise the real and personal impact these issues have had. As Ye said today, he acknowledges that words alone are not enough, and in spite of this still hopes to be given the opportunity to begin a conversation with the Jewish community in the UK.”

A senior partner at an entertainment law firm, speaking anonymously, said: “As soon as you've lost your major sponsors, you're not going to be able to get any [replacements] in that timeframe. The whole thing was premised on a house of cards.”