Kanye West opens Istanbul tour with 118,000 fans

Kanye West performed for a reported crowd of over 118,000 fans at Istanbul’s Atatürk Olympic Stadium on Saturday, marking his first concert in Europe in over a decade. The event, which began in the evening and extended into a festival-style night with DJ sets, laser shows, and fireworks, was billed as the opening night of the rapper’s European tour.

During the performance, West told the audience they had broken the record for the largest stadium performance of all time. While the exact status of that claim is unclear—with larger crowds recorded for some free concerts and other ticketed events—the Istanbul show drew a significant international audience, with fans traveling from Russia, Kazakhstan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and across Europe. Fellow rapper Travis Scott joined West on stage, and the production featured a large spherical platform and an extensive sound system.

The concert follows a series of cancellations and bans for West’s planned performances in other European countries, largely due to controversy stemming from his past antisemitic statements. In recent years, West made comments praising Adolf Hitler, used Nazi imagery in promotional material, and...