Petition Circulating to Oust Kanye West from Pan Ams Closing Ceremony

(ATR)A Canadian petition to swap Kanye West for a local performer at the Pan Am Games closing ceremony has over 18,000 signatures.

The petition is on the website Change.org featuring the infamous picture of Kanye stealing the microphone from singer Taylor Swift at the Video Music Awards in 2009. The page continues with a letter to Saad Rafi and David Peterson of Toronto 2015 suggesting a host of other Canadian performers that should perform at the closing ceremonies instead of Kanye.

"The options for Toronto artists are far from limited and choosing someone like Kanye West raises several concerns among the people. Why was a local artist or group not chosen and supported, just as our local athletes are throughout the games?" the page asks.

At the Thursday morning press conference with the organizing committee, Toronto 2015 chief executive officer Saad Rafi addressed this question directly.

"To answer [that question], Serena Ryder is Canadian. She’s starting the closing ceremony. I’m really surprised and disappointed people forget this is a platinum selling artist who also sings the Pan Am theme song, 'Together We Are One,'" Rafi says.

"I don’t know anybody who talks about artists by their country of origin. Music is an international language. You don’t go platinum in any country and not sell outside of your country," Rafi continued.

Ryder was one artist not listed by the petition as a possible Canadian replacement, reinforcing the statement of Rafi.

Ryder and Kanye will also be joined by Cuban artist Pitbull during the closing ceremony. Each of these artists will perform a set with lengths still to be determined.

"Let’s not forget these are Pan American Games, which include the Americas and the Caribbean. It’s highly appropriate to have artists from these countries of origin," Rafi says.

Rafi went on to mention how the closing ceremony of these games will be no different than other international competitions.

"Major international caliber events have international artists - the World Cup, the Olympics, the Pan Am Games. I’m pleased that we have international world class artists performing."

Part of the concern over Kanye performing at the closing ceremony derives from his use of profane lyrics. Although he could not confirm the artists will be censored during the performance, Rafi says the artists will be aware of the type of performance expected.

"We’ve talked to artists about what kind of a concert this is. The closing ceremony has a certain traditional aspect to it. This is not a Serena Ryder concert, this is not a Kanye West concert, and it’s not a Pitbull concert. Live Nation is in conversation with those artists about song selection and the type of concert this is."

Rafi does not seem concerned the petition will bring about any changes in the ceremony as the contract resides between their supplier Live Nation and the individual artists.

Written by Kevin Nutley

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