Wireless booked Ye as its only headliner — Pepsi and Diageo walked within a week

On 30 March 2026, Wireless — the London festival run by Festival Republic, a Live Nation company — announced Ye, formerly Kanye West, as the sole headliner of all three nights of its July edition. The booking landed immediately in a political storm: community groups and politicians condemned it over the rapper's record of hateful public statements. The festival defended the booking; its sponsors did not.

On 5 April, Pepsi withdrew its title sponsorship: 'Pepsi has decided to withdraw its sponsorship of Wireless festival.' Hours later Diageo followed: 'We have informed the organisers of our concerns, and as it stands, Diageo will not sponsor the 2026 Wireless festival.' Rockstar Energy dropped out as well, and Britain's prime minister had by then called the booking 'deeply concerning'. The sponsors moved two days before the government did.

On 7 April the Home Office revoked Ye's travel authorisation and the festival cancelled outright, refunding every ticket holder — seven days from announcement to cancellation. For Pepsi and Diageo the sponsorship value was destroyed the moment the headliner became a political question: a title sponsorship is association, and the association had turned into the story. Neither brand waited to see whether the shows would happen.