Petition launched to prevent Kanye West's performance at Rubicon festival

Protesters have launched a petition, calling on the mayor of Bratislava to cancel Kanye West's upcoming performance at the Rubicon festival.

West, also known as Ye, is set to perform at the Slovakian music festival on July 20 - his only European show of 2025.

Organisers of the event promoted his gig on their official website: "Hip-hop visionary, cultural icon and controversial genius YE will perform July 20, 2025, exclusively at the Rubicon Festival in Bratislava."

Over 3,500 people have signed the petition, claiming the rapper was “repeatedly and openly adhering to symbols and ideology connected with the darkest period of modern global history”.

The petition is supported by spokespeople of Peace for Ukraine and Cities for Democracy, calling West "one of the world's most famous antisemites".

On May 8, West released a song called 'Heil Hitler', which includes a sample of a 1935 Adolf Hitler speech. The release date of West's song coincided with the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany at the end of World War 2.

West has also sold swastika T-shirts in his online shop in February and publicly spread antisemitic, homophobic and misogynistic hate speech on his X account in the past.

Protesters of his upcoming Rubicon gig said it was "unacceptable that Bratislava should be the only city in Europe that provides space for his performance".

"Not because of his musical expression, but because of his dangerous public attitudes, which are in direct contradiction with European memory and historical responsibility," the petition reads.

Petitioners also raised concerns over West's performance attracting extremists and radicals from other European countries:

"Given the public attitudes of the performer, there is a legitimate concern about the appearance of Nazi symbolism, violent behaviour or the spread of ideology, which is unacceptable in a democratic society and criminal in our country," the letter reads.

The petition concluded with calling West's gig at Rubicon "an insult to historical memory, a glorification of war violence and a humiliation of all victims of the Nazi regime".