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.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Wireless Festival (@wirelessfest)

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

His music career speaks for itself – his 24 Grammy Awards won and 160 million records sold make Ye one of the most successful US artists of all time. His first six albums are all considered peaks of hiphop, with Rolling Stone featuring all of them on their 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time list. West’s style of socially-conscious melodic rap became a defining sound of the 2000s and 2010s, cited as an inspiration for a new generation, including Drake, Travis Scott, and Nicki Minaj.

However, Ye’s fall from grace has been very public and nigh-impossible to explain. Previously merely a divisive figure, his past discretions faded away with time, be it his public feuds with artists like Taylor Swift or uncomfortable remarks on matters of race. In the 2020’s though, West has made himself possibly the most notorious public figure in music. Blaming factors like his high-profile divorce from TV personality Kim Kardashian and mental health problems stemming from his diagnosed bipolar disease, he has spouted antisemitic bile, harassed hundreds of former professional associates, and engaged in wildly inappropriate public behaviour. His account on social media site X, formerly Twitter, was weaponised to spew offensive claims – in particular disgusting conspiracy theories about Jews, which upset millions around the world and earned him public shaming as a “Nazi”. It is estimated that he lost over $1.4 billion in personal wealth since 2021 due to the damage he inflicted on his working relations with brands such as Adidas.

Despite being considered an untouchable pariah by the entire media industry, news published today implied he could be on the verge of returning to the stage. The article posted by The Sun’s “Bizarre” column editor Ellie Henman tells that a source aware of goings-on at London’s Wireless Festival has leaked discussions to book Kanye for this year’s iteration. The insider is quoted as saying “Ye and his team have been locked in final negotiations about headlining Wireless. The number of nights he’ll be performing is still being ironed out. Drake did three last year and Wireless are hoping Ye will commit to do the same.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Wireless Festival (@wirelessfest)

While many would consider it madness to book the artist in the UK again following his negative reception at Wireless in 2014 and the 130,000 strong petition against his Glastonbury headline set in 2015, the insider gives an insight behind the rationale of the booking. “It’s been an incredibly turbulent few years for Ye, but he wants to get back on stage and prove he’s a serious musician. Wireless is a massive festival and for him to return and headline it would be huge. He lost support in the UK over his political views and statements, and he is hopeful this could bring his fans back into the fold. He has apologised profusely for his behaviour over the last few years and he wants a fresh start.”

Whether this reveal will materialise remains to be seen, as Wireless have currently made zero announcements for their 2026 lineup. As it stands the dates are not confirmed either, but are anticipated to fall around the 10th to the 12th of July. You can sign up for further announcements here.

The separate days of the festival had different themes – for the Friday (July 11), fans were treated to a day of R&B/soul music. Speaking to the crowd, Drake said, “You came to a very special night. It’s night one. It’s a celebration of all things R&B. All things melodies. All classics.” The audience enjoyed sets throughout the day from rising UK stars like Nippa and KWN, as well as American artists such as Summer Walker and Leon Thomas. During Drake’s set, he pulled through with a host of guests including Giveon, Bryson Tiller, Bobby Valentino and Mario.

@wirelessfestival We said we were making history this weekend @Rockstar Energy UK #drake #laurynhill #mslaurynhill #wirelessfestival #20yearswireless #wireless2025 #wireless ♬ original sound – Wireless Festival

One of the biggest surprises of the day came as Lauryn Hill took to the stage. A famously reclusive artist whose live appearances have been notoriously disorganized, she came out to perform “Ready Or Not” and “Ex Factor”, the latter of which transitioned into Drake’s hit “Nice For What” which samples the soulful classic.

The tempo and tone was changed for the Saturday show (July 12), as the mellow vibes of the previous night were switched for a high-energy day of hip-hop. ““London, tonight is different,” Drake said onstage, hyping up the audience. “All that sweetheart, singing sh*t? That sh*t is over tonight. This is for my motherf*cking dogs.” A lineup of homegrown UK talent was featured throughout, with experimental trap rapper Lancey Foux and grime collective Boy Better Know providing sets.

@wirelessfestival You asked for Dave & Cench, we delivered DRAKE SPECIAL GUESTS NIGHT 2 @Rockstar Energy UK @CentralCee #drake #dave #centralcee #cench #wireless #wireless2025 #20yearswireless #wirelessfestival ♬ original sound – Wireless Festival

When it was Drake’s time to take to the stage, he gave another star-studded set featuring guests like Dave, Central Cee, J Hus, Yeat, Skepta, Latto, Sexyy Redd, K-Trap, Headie One and 21 Savage.

The Sunday (July 13) saw the styles travel from London to around the world for a “global” themed day, featuring afrobeat and dancehall artists legends like Vybz Kartel, Burna Boy, Spice and Popcaan. Unfortunately, Drake only managed to perform for 40 minutes, due to a strict 9:30pm curfew, as he opted to give the other acts more stage time.

@wirelessfestival VYBZ X DRAKE @Rockstar Energy UK #wireless #20yearswireless #wireless2025 #wirelessfestival #drake #vybzkartel ♬ original sound – Wireless Festival

During the Saturday night, Drake seemingly weighed in on the debate brewing as to who would reign victoriously in a clash between UK and US rappers. He said to a supportive crowd, “London rappers are the best lyricists in the world. No disrespect to America, but nobody in the world can out-rap London rappers. This is the highest level – this is what I aspire to be.”

To read more into the growing UK vs US battle debate drawn up by Skepta, click here.

A pre-sale for Three customers begins at 12pm on Monday (Feb 17), and other customers can sign up to the Wireless pre-sale for 12pm on Tuesday (Feb 18). General sale will open at 12pm on Wednesday (Feb 19) – tickets can be seen here.

Every night will see him perform a different setlist and bring out different guests – on the Friday (11 July), he’ll be accompanied by long-time collaborator PartyNextDoor and R&B star Summer Walker. This night could see him cater to the R&B crowd – he’s always incorporated R&B/soul sounds into his music since his first mixtapes, carving out his lane as one of the first rappers to really popularize the melodic style that’s prevalent today.

On the Saturday (12 July), there’s been no confirmed guests yet, only ‘Drake & The Mandem’. It’s a good guess that this will see a set tailored to UK rap fans. Drake’s been a long-time admirer of British emcees, since his ‘More Life’ tape where he took influence from UK grime and hip-hop, featuring artists like Giggs on ‘KMT‘ and Skepta on ‘Skepta’s Interlude‘. Recent years have seen him collaborate with newer names like Dave, Headie One, and Central Cee.

And lastly, on Sunday (13 July), Burna Boy and Vybz Kartel are confirmed as special guests. Perhaps this night will see Drake showcase some more international sounds. On ‘Views’, he started experimenting with West Indian and African styles, with dancehall song ‘Controlla’ and the afrobeat-inspired track ‘One Dance’ becoming big hits.

Last week on Valentine’s day, Drake and PartyNextDoor teamed up to release a joint album, titled ‘Some Sexy Songs 4 U’. A 21-track release that features both collaborative and solo songs from the Canadian pair, it swayed further into slow-jam/R&B territory than the hip-hop/rap style fans might have expected from Drake. The two of them have collaborated previously on classic songs like ‘Recognize‘ and ‘Come And See Me‘.

On Spotify, the album earned 56.6 million first-day streams on the global chart, becoming the second-biggest album debut of 2025 so far. It’s also broken the record for the biggest R&B/soul album in Apple Music’s history by first-day streams worldwide.

While a commercial success for the two OVO artists, the project has garnered mixed reviews. The Hollywood Reporter said: “The intention seems to have been to make a record to sleep with someone to. In practice, it’s more like a record to put you to sleep.” Clash Magazine wrote: “On first listen, ‘$ome $sexy $ongs 4 U’ isn’t terrible, but it equally isn’t a vintage release for either artist.”

So far, Drake and his guests are the only confirmed acts for Wireless Festival 2025. More info on the event can be found here.

If successful with their filing, Festival Republic would host a new three-day event in Luton’s Stockwood Park. The proposed dates for the new event would fall on the spring bank holiday, Saturday, May 25th to Monday, May 27th. As well as performances, Benn’s application has been reported to propose “a funfair and sponsor activations”. Mirroring the format of the company’s other festivals, the proposed event will likely include the all the bells and whistles associated with their mainline stage shows.

Although Luton Council has already discussed this application, their decision has not yet been made public. For many, festivals can be seen as great economic boost to an area, especially if the event does not provide camping facilities. Large numbers of festivalgoers need accommodation and food which can be provided by local businesses after the day’s shows have come to a close. However, this benefit can often come at the cost of residents, as noise levels will be elevated by both the event itself and by its sometimes-rowdy participants. It doesn’t seem likely that the proposed festival will be a camping affair as the documentation filed does not imply nor mention overnight accommodation.

Other factors to be considered in the council’s decision are the effects that a large-scale event, like this one, would have on Luton’s public transport infrastructure. This is especially relevant, as Stockwood Park is only 1.5 miles from the town’s centre. Either way, the final decision from Luton Council will likely be announced within the week.

This year is looking promising for Festival Republic, as Finsbury Park’s Wireless is set to announce its 2024 line up next week, and Reading/Leeds has already teased the first ten acts for this year’s extravaganza. Among those performing at Reading’s and Leeds’ 2024 incarnation, are DJ and producer Fred Again.., Lana Del Rey, and Liam Gallagher.

Update: As of January 22nd, Luton Council said that Melvin Benn’s “application was granted with minor amendments“. Due to residents’ concerns of increased noise, congestion, and anti-social behaviour, Luton Council has arranged for noise to be monitored during the event as well as a noise hotline that would allow locals to complain about disruption in residential areas.

Check out the tour poster for the Antagonist Tour on Ken Carson’s Twitter below:

pic.twitter.com/RRddMYzYmm

— (@kencarson) July 12, 2023

Playboi Carti founded Opium, a record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2019 where he signed Ken Carson to his label. Both Destroy Lonely and Homixide Gang were then signed to Opium in 2021. The Antagonist Tour will be the first the four acts go on tour together as an Opium collective. Currently, the label has officially released six studio albums including Ken Carson’s Project X (2019) and Destroy Lonely’s If Looks Could Kill (2023) which debuted at number 18 on the US Billboard 200.

Listen to Destroy Lonely’s 2023 album If Looks Could Kill on Spotify below:

Carti’s most recent album Whole Lotta Red was released on December 25, 2020 debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200. It was also ranked number one on Rolling Stone’s 20 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2021 being described as “one of the most forward-thinking rap records since Kanye West’s Yeezus.” The album consists of 24 songs and features artists Kanye West, Kid Cudi, and Future. Whole Lotta Red includes songs such as “Rockstar Made”, “Vamp Anthem”, “Sky”, and “ILoveUIHateU”.

Listen to Playboi Carti’s album Whole Lotta Red on Spotify below:

However, since the drop of Whole Lotta Red, Carti has been collaborating with other musicians. Recently, he featured on Canadian singer The Weeknd’s single “Popular” along with Madonna. The song was released on June 2, 2023 and peaked at number 11 in the UK. In addition to this, it charted within the top 20 in Canada, Japan, Lithuania, New Zealand, Switzerland, Croatia, and India. A music visualiser accompanied the release of the single and was uploaded on YouTube.

Check out the music visualiser for “Popular” by The Weeknd, Madonna, and Playboi Carti on Youtube below:

The American rapper recently headlined this year’s Wireless Festival at Finsbury Park on Friday 7th July. Friday’s Wireless was dubbed as Opium Friday with Ken Carson, Destroy Lonely, and Homixide Gang also performing that day. He surprised the UK audience with an unreleased track at the festival.

Watch Carti perform his unreleased track at Wireless Festival below:

Playboi Carti UK and Europe Antagonist tour dates:

19/11/2023 – 3Arena – Dublin
21/11 – AO Arena – Manchester
22/11 – The O2 – London
24/11 – Forest National – Manchester
25/11 – Ziggo Dome – Birmingham
27/11 – Mediolanum Forum – Milan
29/11 – Lanxess Arena – Cologne
30/11 – Mercedes-Benz Arena – Berlin
02/12 – Accorhotels Arena – Paris
04/12 – Royal Arena – Copenhagen

Tickets for the Antagonist tour are available to purchase here

Watch a video of Ice Spice and PinkPantheress performing “Boys a liar Pt.2” at Wireless Festival below:

| PinkPantheress and Ice Spice performing “Boys a liar” at Wireless Fest pic.twitter.com/5gPOlE6KSJ

— PinkPantheress Updates ☆ (@updatespinkp) July 7, 2023

“Boy’s a liar” was first released on January 2, 2023 as a single but then added to PinkPantheress’ EP Take Me Home. Soon after, “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” was released on February 3, 2023 which debuted at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song reached number 4 on the chart which was the first top 10 entry for both artist Ice Spice and PinkPantheress. Watch the official video for “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” on YouTube below: Recently, PinkPantheress released another collab with Opium-signed American rapper Destroy Lonely. The singer took to Twitter to announce the song“Turn Your Phone Off”. She wrote, “This song has been on my mind since I leaked it in 2021 – I was just waiting until the perfect opportunity to drop it. I’m privileged to share this track with lone, love his artistry, love a random collab.” The song “Turn Your Phone Off” was released on July 14 and is available to listen to on Spotify. See PinkPantheress’ announcement for “Turn Your Phone Off” below:

this song has been on my mind since I leaked it in 2021 – I was just waiting until the perfect opportunity to drop it. im privileged to share this track with lone, love his artistry, love a random collab lol

Turn your phone off – (feat Destroy Lonely) out now

mv next week

— pinkpantheress (@pinkpantheress2) July 13, 2023

Listen to PinkPantheress and Destroy Lonely’s new track “Turn Your Phone Off” below:

PinkPantheress has also teased her debut studio album. On May 24, the singer posted a song teaser where she and her friend are in a car park dancing to an unreleased song. It samples the track “Ku Lo Sa” by Oxlade and at the bottom of the video, PinkPantheress captioned “Album season is upon us.”

PINKPANTHERESS ALBUM INCOMING pic.twitter.com/GcvEoLJUU7

— mev (@toheavenwithit) May 24, 2023

The day after the album was teased, it was announced that PinkPantheress will feature on the upcoming Barbie movie soundtrack. The Barbie album soundtrack will also feature Ice Spice, as well as artists including Dua Lipa, Charli XCX, Lizzo, Nicki Minaj, Ava Max, Tame Impala and many more. The movie will be out in theatres on July 21, 2023. See the Barbie Album announcement on Twitter below:

EXCLUSIVE: @DUALIPA, @icespicee_, @charli_xcx, @lizzo, @NICKIMINAJ, @AvaMax, @pinkpantheress2, Ryan Gosling(!), @tameimpala, and more will appear on the @barbiethealbum soundtrack.

Details: https://t.co/qSJeh0cUaH pic.twitter.com/9tMj7GEEDy

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) May 25, 2023

This year’s Wireless Festival will run on the Friday 7th July until Sunday 9th July with Playboi Carti, Travis Scott, and D-Block Europe as the headlining performers. 50 Cent is also set to perform as a special guest. It will take place at Finsbury Park in London bringing the rap and urban community back together.

On Wireless Festival’s official Instagram, it was announced that tickets had “OFFICIALLY SOLD OUT” as seen below:

Although not all names on the lineup has been revealed, musicians including Lil Uzi Vert, Metro Boomin, FLO, Mariah The Scientist, Lil Durk, and Lil Tjay will be performing across the weekend.

BBC 1XTRA is this year’s official broadcast partner for Wireless Festival 2023. They will be broadcasting live from Finsbury Park allowing fans to follow along on BBC Sounds, and BBC iPlayer.

The following BBC Radio 1XTRA hosts are confirmed to appear across the weekend: Kenny Allstar, Seani B, DJ Target, Tiffany Calver, Nadia Jae, and Remi Burgz.

See the announcement video for the lineup names below:

2023 Names are here

@nellarose @yungfilly1 @Darkestman_1 @HenrieVIII @itsNadiaJae @KennyAllstar pic.twitter.com/rJSTCgkQIp

— Wireless Festival (@WirelessFest) January 25, 2023

Last year, Wireless took place over at Crystal Palace, Birmingham, as well as Finsbury Park. However, it will only be held at Finsbury Park this year for the entire three-day event. Headlining artists for Wireless Festival 2022 included the likes of Cardi B, SZA, Nicki Minaj, A$AP Rocky, J. Cole, Dave, and Tyler, The Creator.

The music festival has been running since 2005 with headlining artists including Jay-Z, P!nk, The Black Eyed Peas, Pulp, Rihanna, Bruno Mars, and Stormzy.

Those who do not want to miss out are encouraged to quickly purchase tickets to avoid disappointment while limited VIP packages are still available.

Remember to be aware of ticket scams and only purchase tickets via the official Gopuff delivers Wireless and their official ticket partners.

Here is the list of artists announced to perform so far:

Friday 7th July

• Playboi Carti
• Yeat
• Lil Uzi Vert
• Metro Boomin
• Lancey Foux
• Ice Spice
• Kenny All Star
• Ken Carson
• Latto
• Destroy Lonely
• Homixide Gang
• Lola Brooke

and more…

Saturday 8th July

• Travis Scott
• Lil Yachty
• Headie One
• Bryson Tiller
• FLO
• Joey Bada$$
• Lucki
• Mariah The Scientist
• Clavish
• NLE Choppa

and more…

Sunday 9th July

• D-Block Europe
• 50 Cent
• Lil Durk
• Popcaan
• Lil Tjay
• Dexta Daps
• DJ Target
• K-Trap
• GloRilla
• Black Sherif
• Dréya Mac

and more…

Buy tickets here

American rapper Megan Thee Stallion, Nigerian singer Burna Boy and US artist Doja Cat are all set to join the already star-studded line-up, with headliners including the likes of Tyler, the Creator, Cardi B and Nicki Minaj. If you want to see a full list of the line-up, you can go to the festival’s website here.

The festival will take place across three different venues; London’s Crystal Palace Park, Finsbury Park and Birmingham’s NEC, the latter of which was last involved with the festival back in 2014. Artist ASAP Rocky is set to start things off at Crystal Palace Park, and it’s an especially significant event for his UK fans, what with it being his first concert in the country for six whole years.

Nicki Minaj, Cardi B and SZA will be headlining the following week at Finsbury Park, with a historic all-female line-up taking place. It will also be a significant moment for SZA, being her first-ever UK headline festival appearance.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Wireless Festival (@wirelessfest)

Other significant artists making an appearance include British rapper Dave, who recently was awarded Best Hip Hop/ Grime/ Rap Act at the 2022 BRIT Awards. Despite Storm Eunice forcing him to make some changes to his touring schedule, he should be back in the full swing of things this July when he headlines at the Birmingham NEC. Last year, the headlining acts included the likes of Future, Skepta and Migos.

If you can’t make it to any of the shows, no worries; the BBC has you covered. BBC Radio 1Xtra will be airing the performances, as well as giving us exclusive interviews, so you’ll be getting the best of both worlds either way. Some of the station’s DJs will also be given the opportunity to host stages and perform their own sets across the festival’s duration. It’s the first time Wireless Festival has worked with the station, but we can hope it’s a promising sign of things to come.

If you’re interested in getting tickets, best act fast. They’ve gone on sale today already, having started at noon, but you can get there quick by following this link.

Wireless 2021 line-up has landed Final release tickets on sale 12pm Thursday 29th April Like and tag your mates for a chance to win 4x VIP weekend tickets to #Wirelessfest https://t.co/92uryjpvs7 pic.twitter.com/HReOu13tGC

— Wireless Festival (@WirelessFest) April 27, 2021

Future, Skepta, and Migos are billed to headline one night each over the three-day festival spanning September 10-12. In addition to the aforementioned headliners, other acts on this year’s festival bill include Meek Mill, Young Thug, AJ Tracey, D Block Europe, and Lil Baby. Singer Mahalia has called out Wireless for a line-up that was once again overwhelmingly male. Mahalia took to Twitter to express her concern writing: “Wireless back at it again with the penis fest. Whew I’m tired”.

wireless back at it again with the penis fest. Whew I’m tired pic.twitter.com/LVveysOmaL

— mahalia (@mahalia) April 27, 2021

Of the 49-act line-up there are only five female acts. Megan Thee Stallion is featured relatively low on the festival billing despite her success this year, which most recently included picking up three Grammy awards. Other women performing in this year’s festival include Yinka, Ivorian Doll, Darkoo, and Tiffany Calver. This isn’t the first time the festival has been under fire for its unbalanced line-up. Wireless faced a similar backlash in 2018 after booking just three female artists, which dropped to two after Cardi B was forced to pull out.

Wireless joins a slew of other summer festivals that have been criticised for their male-dominated line-ups including Reading and Leeds, Parklife, and Creamfields. Summer festivals are hoping to make a comeback this year following last year’s cancellations due to coronavirus.

Tickets for Wireless 2021 will go on general sale on Thursday (April 29) at 12pm from here, though there is exclusive access to tickets for Barclaycard customers from 12pm today.