Kanye West will perform a massive concert at Istanbul's Ataturk Olympic Stadium on Saturday, kicking off his summer tour after canceling shows in the UK, France, Switzerland and Poland over the rapper's anti-Semitic comments.
West, now known as Ye, will perform on a globe-shaped stage at an event in Istanbul before embarking on his first European tour in 11 years. Although the UK government banned Ye from entering the country, and several other European countries have followed suit, according to organizer Erdem Karahan, fans are now traveling to Istanbul from the UK, US, Germany, Poland, Russia, and Kazakhstan to attend the concert.
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Karahan, the founder of ILS Vision, which is co-organizing the Istanbul concert with TemaCC, told Turkish media that additional revenue from foreign attendees of the Ye Istanbul concert is expected to be between $50 million and $100 million, including accommodation, transportation, and food. Alcohol consumption is reportedly prohibited on the concert grounds.
ILS Vision organisers are expecting an audience of up to 120,000 people, with 75,000 tickets already sold.
«"If the number of spectators reaches 99,000, Istanbul will break the world record for the largest number of spectators at a single concert," Karahan said in an interview with Turkish media.
In addition to several Turkish artists opening the evening—including Sena Şener, Motive, Lvbel C5, Yener Çevik, Mavi, and Pera—Karahan told Turkish media that he expects American rapper Travis Scott to perform their collaboration "Father" from West's latest album, "Bully." North West, Kanye West's daughter with ex-wife Kim Kardashian, is also expected to perform.
West, who previously posted "I love Nazis" on social media, sold swastika T-shirts on his website, and released a song called "Heil Hitler" last year, published a full-page apology in the Wall Street Journal in January, attributing his behavior to manic episodes caused by bipolar disorder.
For the remainder of his European tour, West is scheduled to perform in the Netherlands on June 6 and 8; Tirana, Albania on July 11; Reggio Emilia, Italy on July 18; and Prague on July 25.
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