Kanye West drew 34,000 in Portugal after five European countries cancelled his tour

Kanye West performed to about 34,000 people at the Estádio do Algarve in Portugal on Friday, one of the few European venues still willing to stage him.

The tour supporting his twelfth album, Bully, has been cancelled in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Poland and Czechia. Australia refused him a visa. Britain did the same.

What remains of the itinerary reflects that. After Portugal he plays the Central Stadium in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on August 14, then returns to the United States for shows in New Orleans on August 28 and Chicago on September 3.

The Portuguese date drew a public campaign against it. Oren Rozenblat, the Israeli ambassador in Lisbon, called for cancellation, describing West as someone who had glorified Hitler, promoted antisemitism and claimed that slavery was a choice. He argued the concert would be a disgrace for Portugal.

It went ahead. The organiser, Raya Culture, had told Euronews in April that the controversy was a non-issue driven by misinformation, and that it would only become a matter for the state if the authorities identified a threat to public order.

West took the stage 45 minutes late, performed from atop a giant globe, brought his daughter North on for a duet, played Stronger, Gold Digger and American Boy, and made no political remarks.

What the cancellations cost

Stadium touring is the largest revenue line available to a recording artist. A venue the size of the Estádio do Algarve, filled, generates several million dollars in ticket sales before merchandise, and a European stadium run of ten to fifteen dates is a nine-figure gross for an artist of his catalogue.

Losing the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Poland and Czechia removes most of that market. Britain and France alone contain the largest concert markets in Europe outside Germany.

The financial position that makes touring necessary was created in October 2022, when Adidas ended the Yeezy partnership over his antisemitic statements. That single decision removed the overwhelming majority of his wealth. Forbes had valued him near $2 billion on the strength of the sneaker line and removed him from its billionaires list within days of the split.

Gap had already cut ties. Balenciaga, Foot Locker and his talent agency followed.

Touring is what is left, and it is now constrained by the same conduct that removed the endorsements.

The apology

West took out a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal apologising for his antisemitic comments, describing his conduct as a four-month manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour, and saying he had lost touch with reality.

That advertisement is itself a commercial document. Promoters, insurers and venue operators require some assurance before booking an artist whose appearances have been cancelled across five jurisdictions, and a public retraction in a newspaper of record is the form such assurance usually takes.

Whether it reopens the markets he has lost is unresolved. None of the five countries has reversed its position.

Other proceedings

West faces separate legal claims unrelated to the tour.

Former staff have accused him of abuse in complaints filed in the United States. A former assistant has brought a lawsuit alleging sexual assault, and claiming he strangled a model on the set of a music video in 2010.

None of those allegations has been tested in court, and he denies them.

He has won 24 Grammy awards, placing him among the most decorated artists in the ceremony's history alongside Jay-Z.

Friday was his third performance in Portugal, after Cool Jazz in Oeiras in 2006 and the Sudoeste Festival in 2011.