Kanye West backed out of headlining this year’s Coachella Festival just two days before his involvement was announced. The reason? Coachella wouldn’t build him a giant dome as a stage.
According to Billboard, festival executives warned Kanye that building a giant dome just four months before the festival opened just wasn’t possible. Not only would the dome be costly, but it would require the festival grounds to be completely rearranged. Kanye insisted that his stage-dome be placed in the center of the festival grounds. Kanye thought the main stage, which is one of the largest stages in North America, wasn’t big enough for his performance. This would require a large portion of portable bathrooms used by the festival’s over 100,000 attendees to be removed in order to accommodate.
After Kanye was denied his giant dome, the rapper and producer was reportedly irritated, stating that he’s an artist with a creative vision who shouldn’t be spending his time discussing portable bathrooms.
Coachella executives wasted no time after Kanye refused to headlining spot. Instead of coming to an agreement, Coachella secured Ariana Grande as a replacement. Grande was confirmed less than 24 hours later.
The dome Kanye requested would have been designed by his set designer John McGuire. The dome would have allowed for a 360 degree experience with immersive video and high-tech production.
This year, Coachella will take place over two weekends; April 12-14 and April 19-21. The festival will celebrate it’s 20th anniversary and sold out its first release of tickets within a day.
