Kanye West's Russia shows officially cancelled after weeks of uncertainty

Two stadium gigs in Russia by Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, have officially been cancelled.

West had been due to perform at the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg on 10 and 11 October.

But there was confusion in the lead-up to the shows, as the venue had said it wouldn't host him for what would have been the biggest show by a western artist since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

In a post on messaging app Telegram, gig organisers Say Agency confirmed the concerts had been cancelled with "sincere regret".

"The Ye concerts in St Petersburg will not be able to take place on the scheduled dates," the Moscow-based agency wrote.

"We will issue an official statement regarding the status of the project and our plans in the near future."

Gazprom Arena said in August that it had not signed a rental agreement with the concert promoters and so the gig could not take place on its site.

Say Agency had said it was working to resolve the issue with the stadium before confirming they could not go ahead.