Nicki Minaj cancels festival slot in Romania following “safety concerns” over protest

8 July, 2024

Nicki Minaj

NIcki Minaj has cancelled a planned festival appearance in Romania due to “safety concerns”.

The rapper had been due to perform at Saga Festival in Bucharest on Sunday evening (July 8). 

However, Minaj said that after being warned about “protests in the area” she needed to make “sound decisions” to ensure she made it home to her son.

In a post on X/Twitter, Minaj said: “Out of concern for the well-being of our team and myself, I have been advised by my security detail not to travel to Romania’s festival tonight due to safety concerns regarding protests in the area.

“I look forward to seeing you all at another time.”

She added: “As a mom, I have to make sure I’m making sound decisions for me to make it home to my son and for my team to make it home to their families. To not heed the advice of security at this time is simply not what I think I should be doing.

“I love you and thank you for your understanding and support. I am very excited to see my fans this Friday in London for another very special headlining show at Wireless Festival.”

Back in May, Minaj’s show at Manchester’s Co-Op Live was cancelled after she was arrested in Amsterdam earlier in the day.

The rapper was due to take her ‘Pink Friday 2’ live show to the venue as part of her ongoing UK and European tour, but she was unable to make it to the gig after the events in the Netherlands.

Minaj livestreamed her own arrest at the time, as she appeared to be detained by Dutch police for allegedly “carrying drugs” while travelling between countries. The Dutch National Police Corps confirmed that she had been arrested, but that she had since been released.

Doors at the Co-Op Live opened at 7pm, with Minaj due on stage an hour later. However, as fans continued to wait, the announcement finally came at around 9:30pm that Minaj would not be performing after all.

The venue later posted an official update: “Nicki Minaj’s scheduled performance at Manchester’s Co-Op Live on Saturday 25th May has been postponed,” they wrote. “Tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled performance which will be announced ASAP.”

“Despite Nicki’s best efforts to explore every possible avenue to make tonight’s show happen, the events of today have made it impossible. We are deeply disappointed by the inconvenience this has caused. More information will be available at your point of purchase.”

Minaj is due to headline Wireless Festival in London this coming Friday (July 12) at Finsbury Park.

Minaj’s current tour comes in celebration of her long-awaited ‘Pink Friday 2’ album, which arrived in December and received a four-star review from NME‘s Nick Levine upon its release.

Levine wrote: “‘Pink Friday 2’ feels like a consolidation and refinement of everything Minaj can do – including dropping pop culture references that no other artist would think of. “Ducking ’em like Björk?” That’s surely a wink to the Icelandic musician’s infamous skirmish with a photographer. Thirteen years after ‘Pink Friday’, Nicki Minaj hasn’t lost her ability to catch us by surprise.”

The post Nicki Minaj cancels festival slot in Romania following “safety concerns” over protest appeared first on NME.