CAIRO: A concert in Egypt by US rapper Travis Scott, which was scheduled for Friday at the Giza pyramids, has been canceled, the event’s organizers Live Nation Middle East said on Wednesday.
The Egyptian Syndicate of Musical Professions initially canceled the gig — at which Scott planned to debut his new album — on July 17, reportedly on the grounds that the rap star’s “strange rituals” would offend Egyptian traditions.
However, two days later Live Nation Middle East said that the concert would go ahead despite the union’s claims about revoking its permit.
The entertainment company confirmed on Wednesday that the concert has in fact been canceled.
Live Nation announced on Twitter: “Complex production issues meant that the show could not be constructed in the desert.”
All ticket holders will be entitled to refunds.
The gig was announced earlier in July and would have been Scott’s first in Egypt.
Social media users had called for it to be canceled, and associated Scott with alleged involvement in “anti-Egyptian Afrocentrism agendas.”
Activist Wael Ghonim tweeted his thanks to officials who had prevented the concert from taking place, adding that the rapper intended to “sing his garbage and promote drug addiction next to the great pyramids of Egypt.”
The Egyptian Syndicate of Musical Professions, which is responsible for granting concert permits, rarely opposes such events, but in recent years has spearheaded a fight against musical genres deemed improper in Egypt, with rap and hip-hop a frequent target.
Egypt has also increasingly opposed what it views as a “rewriting” of its history, finding fault with African American social movements that claim cultural ties to the ancient pharaohs.
