An influx presented as a record for Turkey. On May 30, around 118,000 people gathered in Istanbul, in the Atatürk Olympic stadium, to attend a concert by the very controversial American rapper Kanye West, alias “Ye†, reports the daily Habertürk, which lists the Turkish stars present at the event.
The singer, former companion of American star and businesswoman Kim Kardashian, was one of the most visible supporters of Donald Trump among American celebrities. He is now especially talked about because of his conspiratorial and anti-Semitic statements, and his glorification of Adolf Hitler.
Until now, the dates of his European tour had been canceled, for fear of violence between his audience and the demonstrators who declared they wanted to protest against his presence. In April, he was canceled from the Wireless Festival, which takes place in London in July, and banned from entering the country by the British authorities. His concerts planned in Poland and France, at the Marseille Vélodrome, were also canceled, as was the one scheduled for July in Italy, underlines the Turkish daily Breath. However, two others could take place on June 6 and 8 as part of a festival in the Netherlands.
Many fans from abroad
Due to the crowds, the metros serving the stadium ran until the morning, reports the daily Universal, which underlines that the passengers had difficulty moving in the crowd and were stuck for a long time in the corridors and on the platforms. The show attracted fans from abroad, including some from countries where Ye’s visit had been canceled, and would have brought in 100 million dollars (around 86 million euros) in the country, the Turkish press rejoices.
The weekly Newspaper Oxygen en a interviewé certains : “I came specially from London, I’m going to stay four days in Istanbul, I’ve been waiting for this moment for twenty-five years, I’ve been listening to it since I was little… testifies one of them.
“I don’t know his songs well, I come for the show and for the decor, it’s extremely rare for artists to take all their decor with them to Turkey, I want to see what the giant concerts that take place abroad look like… says a Turkish spectator quoted by the same media.
Western “Demonizationâ€
When most Turkish media welcome the economic benefits and publicity for the country, some applaud an artist whom they consider the victim of unfair censorship. This “légende du rap†, considérée comme un “support for Palestine†, would thus be the victim of a “lobby mondial†and a “demonization of the music industry established in the West†, applauds the conservative opposition daily Decision.
Others, on the contrary, are sorry that Turkey has opened its doors to this artist. “Europe’s ‘undesirable man’ took to the stage in Istanbul†, title of a daily article Republic, which recalls that in addition to his apologies for Nazism, he is implicated in trials for harassment and sexual assault, and that his former assistant accuses him of having raped her. Many negative reactions were published on social networks, reports the newspaper.
“We have allowed a man to whom Europe refuses stages because he supports racism and sexual abuse to break records in Turkey†, regrets an Internet user cited by the daily. “One hundred and twenty thousand people applaud a supporter of Nazism and defender of sexual abuse. The shame… concludes another.
