According to a report New Zealand publication Stuff Tyler, The Creator has reapplied for a visa to enter New Zealand to headline Bay Dreams music festival in 2020. The festival’s promoters say that Tyler was approved for the visa and immigration officials assert that his request is currently being processed.
“[Tyler, The Creator] is no longer deemed to be a potential threat to public order and the public interest,” NZ Immigration told Stuff.
It’s been five years since New Zealand formally banned Tyler from the country. In 2014, NZ blocked Tyler and his Odd Future crew from entering the country after its government deemed that the group was a threat to public order. NZ based its decision on a 2011 incident in Boston where the group allegedly incited a violent riot at an autograph signing. Tyler and his crew haven’t been allowed into the country ever since.
“He was young, he’s changed. The music he is releasing now is totally different to the music he was releasing six or seven years ago,” Bay Dreams co-promoter Pato Alvarez told the NZ publication.
Tyler is expected to bring the sounds of his new album Igor to the festival in 2020 with no travel restrictions. Bay Dreams is New Zealand’s largest music festival featuring events at two sites: Bay Park Arena in Mount Maunganui on Jan. 2 and Trafalgar Park in Nelson on Jan. 4.
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