“I Tried, Kazakhstan”: Zemfira Cancels Concert in Almaty After Bureaucratic Hurdles

Zemfira’s highly anticipated concert in Almaty, set for July 6, has been cancelled. The Russian singer announced the news on social media, citing prolonged bureaucratic issues and an eventual official denial from the rector of the university overseeing the Khan-Tengri stadium, Orda.kz reports.

Fans had been looking forward to the show since 2023, when Zemfira last performed in Almaty and Astana. In May 2025, it was announced that Zemfira would perform a concert on July 6, Nursultan Nazarbayev’s birthday.

The event was originally scheduled to take place at the ASP Arena in Qonayev but was later moved to the football stadium near Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty. Ultimately, that venue also fell through, and the concert was eventually cancelled.

I have bad news — the concert in Almaty will not take place. Everything went wrong from the very beginning. Four months of approvals, a venue change, and finally an official refusal from the rector supervising the Khan-Tengri stadium, of course, for a far-fetched reason. Two weeks before the concert. For me, the ‘poster’ is sacred, so I do not understand… I am very sorry,Zemfira posted. 

Following her previous concerts in Kazakhstan, Zemfira had to issue an apology. In an Instagram post, she had written the country’s name with a lowercase letter and criticized “awful organizing.” The post sparked backlash, dividing fans. It has since been deleted. This time, Zemfira hoped to leave things on a more positive note:

I tried, Kazakhstan. I tried to smooth over the awkwardness of the last meeting, to say goodbye beautifully. No matter what, the Kazakh audience is wonderful, and I am grateful to you for all the past concerts and memories.

Zemfira’s show is the latest in a growing list of cancellations involving foreign performers in Kazakhstan. Over the past year, tours by Bi-2 and Monetochka were also scrapped amid political pressure and government scrutiny. 

Organizers have not issued a formal comment on the cancellation, but Zemfira’s post suggests this may be another politically influenced decision.

Zemfira is recognized as a "foreign agent" in Russia.

Orda.kz has requested comments from KazNU and the Almaty Akimat.

Original Author: Alina Pak