London’s Wireless Festival has come under immense scrutiny this week from Jewish rights unions and various campaign groups, following yesterday’s announcement that controversial rapper Kanye West would be headlining all three nights of the event. Now going by his preferred stage name Ye, West will return to the UK in July for his first live shows since 2015, despite spending the last few years spreading antisemitic rhetoric and harassing Jewish individuals online.
Wireless is predominantly a festival celebrating rap and hiphop music, taking place in London’s Hyde Park. Following supposed leaks and rampant speculation, rumours at the start of the month that Ye would be booked for Wireless were confirmed yesterday by the organisers. Following last year’s format that saw Drake perform at the end of every night, the festival’s only confirmed act so far is Ye across the Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
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West’s last headline show at Wireless was in 2014 following Drake’s withdrawal from the bill, but it received negative press for being a poor choice of replacement and for West’s mid-set rant about his treatment by the media. This was followed by a Glastonbury headliner in 2015, currently his last festival show on British soil, that saw a 130,000 strong petition attempt to remove him from the bill due to his egotistical preaching.
Ye’s hate campaign against Jewish people began in 2022, when he first started sharing offensive opinions and antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media. He was suspended by both Instagram and Twitter (now X), as well as losing significant business partnerships with companies like Adidas. More recently, he openly referred to himself as “a Nazi”, in addition to penning the single ‘Heil Hitler’ in 2025 and attempting to release 2026 album ‘Bully’ with a swastika as its artwork. This January, West made an attempt to apologise by purchasing a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal, in which he blamed his bipolar disorder, and reiterated that he loved Jewish people, though this did nothing to dissuade public opinion.
Since the Wireless Festival announcement yesterday, several Jewish rights bodies and activist groups have come out in force against both the festival and West. The Guardian published a statement from the Jewish Leadership Council, a charity protecting Jewish interests in the UK, which reads “It is deeply irresponsible for Wireless festival to be headlining Kanye West. The UK Jewish community is facing record levels of antisemitism, including a terrorist attack in Manchester, the attack on ambulances in Golders Green and foiled plots which would have killed many more. West has repeatedly used his platform to spread antisemitism and pro-Nazi messaging. His most recent apology must be considered in the context that he went on to sell swastika T-shirts and release a song called Heil Hitler after apologising previously. Any venue or festival should reconsider before providing their platform to Kanye West to spread his antisemitism.”
Kanye West is set to headline all three nights of Wireless festival this year, here in the UK.
It would mark his return to the UK music scene after an eleven-year hiatus, since headlining at Glastonbury in 2015. Since then, he has dedicated years of his life to trying to incite… pic.twitter.com/4bHOQGkMgP
— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) March 31, 2026
Charity organisation Campaign Against Antisemitism also issued the above message on social media site X, saying “It is disappointing that venues have been so quick to invite someone who was so recently peddling conspiracy theories, Hitler worship and bigoted lies – including now one of the UK’s biggest festival stages. His cycle of apology and relapse has become a routine, and we must wait to see if this time is any different. What is notable is that the latest apology came on the eve of the release of a new album.”
Indeed, despite multiple setbacks, West released ‘Bully’ on the 28th of March, which appears to have shed his hateful messages in favour of concentrating on the music. Wireless have claimed Ye’s “UK comeback will be an extraordinary chapter in Wireless’s story”, which will be told in London’s Finsbury Park from Friday the 10th to Sunday the 12th of July
