EXCLUSIVE: Kanye West’s secret gig in Italy WILL go ahead despite protests from war veterans who slammed the rapper for praising Adolf Hitler

Kanye West’s sold-out performance in Italy will go ahead next week – despite protests from war veterans who criticized him for praising Adolf Hitler.

MailOnline exclusively revealed earlier this week that stagehands were building a set at an outdoor arena outside the city near Reggio Emilio for West – who has officially changed his name to Ye.

Trucks have been coming and going from the RCF Arena in Reggio Emilia near Bologna for several days and on Thursday a private jet landed on a nearby runway and a car with blacked-out windows was seen heading towards the venue – prompting speculation that it was Kanye.

Early on Friday, Reggio Emilia prefect Maria Rita Cocciufa said no official permission had been received to stage the performance – which was scheduled for today.

However, MailOnline can reveal that a request has now been made for it to go ahead next Friday.

Rooms have been reserved in nearby hotels for stagehands, security and stewards, and a fleet of cars and minibuses with drivers have also been reserved.

Details about the convert were revealed by Ms Cocciufa, who said a public security cabinet meeting would be held at the regional government office on Monday to plan for the event, which is expected to draw 100,000 people.

Ticket details have yet to be released and there is a possibility that the concert – the same venue Harry Styles played in the summer – will be a ‘listening event’ and will simply be streamed as West takes the stage.

Ms Cocciufa confirmed that a request had been received at her office to hold the performance, adding: ‘It is not my job to get involved in any controversy about this artist – my job is to ensure that the event is kept safe.

“I can assure you that we will do that, and that we will undoubtedly need additional police reinforcement.”

Security is expected to be tight as MailOnline highlighted how local veterans groups were angry that the gig was even promoted because of West’s praise of Adolf Hitler and Nazism.

In a shocking interview last year, West said: “Every person has something of value that he or she brought to the table, especially Hitler.

‘I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis. There are a lot of things I like about Hitler, a lot of things: I love Hitler, I’m a Nazi.”

Albertina Soliani, vice-president of the National Association of Italian Partisans (ANPI), stormed: ‘It is time to say enough to these people who think they can say whatever they want.

“Someone can be a fantastic singer, but then they are also judged by what they say, and West has made some inhumane statements and with what is happening in the world today, we cannot accept this concert.

‘Every day we are focused on promoting certain values, namely freedom and democracy, and then we just have to start from the beginning again.

‘In my opinion he should stay at home. Reggio Emilia has always valued people who have fought for firm principles and we stand with the oppressed and not with those who preach hatred.’

Ermete Fiaccadori, ANPI regional president for Reggio Emilia, denounced the West, saying: “First of all, let me say that I hope this concert does not happen. This artist has a large following among young people, but his message is disturbing.

‘I am speechless that he cannot understand what he is saying, which conveys a gross misunderstanding of what Adolf Hitler was throughout history.

“I’m all for artistic freedom, but what Kanye West says and does leaves me shocked.

‘As an organization we strongly condemn this concert and are deeply concerned about the message it conveys.

‘And before anyone says it: this is not censorship because we are all for freedom, but we are talking about a concert that is completely out of order.

‘Reggio has a long history of fighting against the ideas of Adolf Hitler, and many lost their lives as a result.’

WestThe 46-year-old has been in Italy with 28-year-old Censori since August and is said to be working on a new album in a recording studio in Milan.

In March 1944, in Cervarolo, just 40 miles from Reggio Emilia, the Nazis massacred 24 people, including the village pastor, in retaliation for partisan activity.

In a sharp editorial on its website, ReggioOnline launched the idea of ​​the performance by saying: ‘Do we really want this?’ and highlighted how the star has been involved in controversies since his stay in Italy.

It added: ‘West is able to sell thousands of tickets in just a few minutes, transfer a huge amount of money, create an event that will reach millions of people in no time via streaming.

“He is also a man who claimed to have almost killed his daughter, and is also being investigated in Italy for a series of questionable conduct.

‘Is it right that Kayne West sings in Reggio Emilia in the name of art and its ability to attract a large audience?

‘This is a city that takes its students on memory trips to the death camps, so that those atrocities never repeat themselves.

‘This is a city in which the values ​​of the person, of human dignity and of respect for others are not questioned and are also commemorated.

“This is the city where children are not sent to ovens to burn, but are elevated through an education system that copies the world of ours.

‘Many justifications can be put forward in the name of money: from the phrase ‘if he didn’t sing in Reggio, he would sing elsewhere’ to the more subtle: ‘all artists sing questionable phrases.’

‘When West performs in Reggio Emilia, he certainly falls within the logic of a market that does not look at what is sung, but at what it produces.

‘However, do not forget that words, when they are dangerous and violent, not only make money, but also damage the brains of many people. But this is of course not or hardly interesting.’

Last year, West released an album called Dona, named after his mother, and was said to be in Italy working on the follow-up.

Music forums suggested that if the concert was not given the green light, it would become a ‘listening event’, where instead of performing in front of a live audience it would be streamed online.

Donda – West’s tenth album – is named after his mother Donda C West, who died in 2007 at the age of just 58.

West last performed live in Italy in August, when he performed in front of 60,000 fans at a Travs Scott gig in Rome – and it was his first appearance since making a stream of anti-Semitic comments.

Dressed all in black and barefoot, West sang Donda’s “Praise God,” as well as his 2007 anthem “Can’t Tell Me Nothing.”

That concert made headlines after 60 people required hospital treatment when pepper spray was released, while locals feared an earthquake as jumping fans caused intense tremors of a magnitude of 1.3.