Netherlands gives go-ahead for Kanye West concerts
29.05.2026, DPA
Despite fierce protests, US rapper Kanye West will be allowed to perform in the Netherlands in early June as planned, after Minister for Asylum and Migration Bart van den Brink said on Friday that there is no legal basis for refusing him entry.
Van den Brink, who is also deputy prime minister, acknowledged that parliament had voted in favour by a large majority to bar West, but said that alone was insufficient to justify an entry ban.
The minister condemned the anti-Semitic remarks made by West, who now performs under the name Ye. However, past remarks were not legally sufficient grounds to now ban him from entering the country, he said. Previously, performances in other countries had been banned or cancelled.
The city of Arnhem, on the border with Germany, granted permission for the 48-year-old rapper’s concerts on June 6 and 8. The mayor said the city could only revoke a permit if there was a threat to public safety.
Jewish organizations reacted with outrage. “It is incomprehensible that the Netherlands is unable to draw a moral line regarding who is offered a stage and who is not,” said Naomi Mestrum, director of the Centre for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI).
The UK has refused the musician entry. In Poland, a planned concert was cancelled by the organizers. West himself cancelled a performance in France due to the threat of a ban.
The rapper had made anti-Semitic remarks on several occasions, released a song titled "Heil Hitler" and sold T-shirts featuring swastikas. Following protests, he apologized for some of his comments and attributed his behaviour to a mental health condition..
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