Albanian Prime Minister announces Kanye West concert in Tirana
Edi Rama, the Prime Minister of Albania, has announced a concert by Kanye West in the country’s capital, Tirana.
Rami took to Facebook on April 30th to confirm news that the rapper would be performing in Albania on July 11th, sharing footage of West live in concert, along with the caption, “JULY 11 in TIRANA”.
West has since updated his website to officially announce that he has added a date at the Eagle Stadium in Tirana on July 11th. The venue, which is the home of the Albanian national football team, has a capacity of 22,500 for sporting events.
Due to Rama, who is also the chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania, giving West his full support on social media, it appears that this concert has no chance of being cancelled, unlike Ye’s visits to the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland and Poland.
The first concerts to fall amid backlash to the rapper’s history of antisemitism were his headline appearance at Wireless Festival in London, scheduled for July.
In contrast to Rama, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned West, stating he “should never have been invited to headline Wireless” in the first place.
After sponsors, including Pepsi, Rockstar Energy and Diageo, withdrew from Wireless, West promised to meet members of the Jewish community while in London and claimed his aim was to “present a show of change, bringing unity, peace and love through my music”.
Then, a day later, West was denied entry to the United Kingdom due to his past antisemitic behaviour, which, as a result, saw Wireless Festival cancelled for 2026.
Subsequently, French authorities began exploring whether his concert in Marseille should proceed, leading to West to pull the plug on the show, writing on social media, “After much thought and consideration, it is my sole decision to postpone my show in Marseille, France until further notice.”
Days later, his visits to Poland and Switzerland were also axed.
West’s current tour is set to visit New Delhi on May 23rd, before visiting Istanbul on May 30th. He will then play two shows in Arnhem, the Netherlands, on June 6th and 8th.
The European tour will then visit Tirana, Milan, and Madrid before concluding in the Algarve, Portugal, on August 7th.
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