After anti-Semitic speeches, Kanye West's concert in Istanbul brings together 100,000 fans

American rapper Kanye West, 48, who has been banned from performing in several countries due to anti-Semitic comments in the past, attracted more than 100,000 fans to a concert in Istanbul, Turkey, on Saturday night (30).

West, also known as Ye, faced a wave of cancellations in Europe this summer after years of anti-Semitic statements, including speeches praising Adolf Hitler and the release of content using Nazi iconography.

In his first appearance in Europe since 2014, and his first in Turkey, Ye performed for two hours at Istanbul's Ataturk Olympic Stadium to an audience of 118,000 people, state news agency Anadolu reported.

Among the audience were fans from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Russia, Poland and the Middle East, according to Anadolu.

The 48-year-old rapper has performances scheduled in the Netherlands for June 6th and 8th.

Ye has faced strong global rejection, mainly due to the release of "Heil Hitler", a song that promotes Nazism.

In April, the United Kingdom denied Ye entry on the grounds that his presence would not be conducive to the public good, forcing the cancellation of a planned appearance at the Wireless Festival in London.

Later that month, he also postponed a show in Marseille after reports that the French government had tried to block him, and a show in Poland was also later cancelled.

In January, Ye took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal renouncing his past admiration for Hitler and apologizing for his behavior, which he attributed to an undiagnosed brain injury and untreated bipolar disorder.

Kanye West publishes letter of apology in support of Nazism

Source: CNN