Wireless Festival cancelled after Home Office blocks headliner Kanye West from entering UK
Several major sponsors had withdrawn from the Finsbury Park event, where the controversial US musician was due to appear across three nights in July
Wireless Festival has announced the cancellation of this year's festival, after the Home Office blocked headliner Kanye West from entering the country.
Announcing the news via Instagram today (April 7), organisers said: "As a result of the Home Office banning YE from entering the United Kingdom, Wireless Festival has been forced to cancel. All ticket holders will receive an automatic full refund."
In a statement to Mixmag, Wireless Festival operator Festival Republic said: "As with every Wireless Festival, multiple stakeholders were consulted in advance of booking YE and no concerns were highlighted at the time."
Read this next: Ye issues statement over controversial Wireless headline booking
"Antisemitism in all its forms is abhorrent, and we recognise the real and personal impact these issues have had," it continues. 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."
The statement came less than an hour after the Home Office confirmed to BBC News that it had denied an Electric Travel Authorisation (ETA) application from the US musician, AKA Ye, on the grounds that "his presence would not be conducive to the public good."
The Home Office's decision came following intense backlash following his announcement as the headliner of the Finsbury Park event, at which Ye had been scheduled to perform across three days in Finsbury Park across July 10 to 12.
The Chicago-born musician has been criticised for several anti-Semitic, racist, homophobic and sexist outbursts he has made across the last few years — including the release of a track entitled 'Heil Hitler' in 2025, and the sale of a T-shirt on his Yeezy platform emblazoned with a swastika, which was later taken down.
Last month, the US rapper took out an advertisement in the Wall Street Journal entitled "To Those I’ve Hurt", apologising for his offensive statements and citing a 2002 head injury as the cause of his behaviour.
Several major sponsors, including Pepsi and alcohol giant Diageo, withdrew from the festival in response last weekend, while a number of MPs and Jewish organisations had called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to prevent West from entering the country, with the Labour leader labelling the booking "deeply concerning".
Read this next: SXSW Sydney announces cancellation despite $276 million "economic impact" claim
The Managing Director of Festival Republic Melvin Benn, the operator of Wireless, issued a statement defending the booking, agreeing that "what Ye has said in the past about Jews and Hitler is as abhorrent to me as it is to the Jewish community," though feels the public should "offer some forgiveness and hope to him as I have decided to do."
"Ye's music is played on commercial radio stations in this country," Benn's statement continued. "It is available via live streams and downloads in this country without comment or vitriol from anyone and he has a legal right to come into the country and to perform in this country."
"Having had a person in my life for the last 15 years who suffers from mental illness, I have witnessed many episodes of despicable behaviour that I have had to forgive and move on from. If I wasn’t before, I have become a person of forgiveness and hope in all aspects of my life, including work."
You can read Wireless Festival's statement via Instagram below.
Update 07/04/2026 21:34 HKT: This story was updated with the news that Wireless 2026 has been cancelled.
Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on X
