A petition has been launched calling on the mayor of Bratislava to prevent Kanye West – legally known as Ye – from headlining a festival in Bratislava, calling the planned appearance “an insult to historic memory, a glorification of wartime violence and debasement of all victims of the Nazi regime”.

The Rubicon festival in the Slovakian capital claimed that they had secured an exclusive performance by the “hip-hop visionary, cultural icon and controversial genius” for mid-July.

More than 3,500 people have signed the petition, endorsed by representatives from organisations such as Peace for Ukraine and Cities for Democracy, calling for West’s removal from the bill, accusing him of “repeatedly and openly adhering to symbols and [an] ideology connected with the darkest period of modern global history”.