Following the announcement of Iron Maiden’s 2026 European festival and stadium run for their Run For Your Lives world tour, Kilimanjaro Live, in partnership with Phantom Music Management, has confirmed that the legendary metal band will return to the United Kingdom next year for a huge outdoor headline show at the iconic Knebworth Park.
This won’t be just another concert. The event is being planned as a full Iron Maiden-curated weekend experience, featuring the biggest-ever version of Eddie’s Dive Bar, themed food and beverage stands, interactive attractions, and a unique take on the historic Knebworth Fayre. The festival will also include a specially selected group of guest performers.
The supporting lineup includes:
- The Darkness
- The Hu
- Airbourne
- The Almighty
Rod Smallwood, manager of Iron Maiden, shared the band’s vision for the event: “We knew that we had to bring the Run For Your Lives show back to the U.K. again next summer as there was such a phenomenal demand for tickets this year but we wanted to do something a bit different especially as it would be hard to top the show at London Stadium! Well, we think that Knebworth is the solution — besides being a legendary venue for historic concerts over the years going right back to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, and Queen — it also gives us the outdoor space and control to create something very special for our fans! Of course, we also have history there too with our headline appearances at Sonisphere some years ago, who could forget that World War I Centenary dog fight over the park’s tree line with Bruce full guns blazing in his own Fokker triplane? However, this time we will be taking over the whole of the grounds ourselves and turning it into as much of a ‘Maiden World’ as we can for all our fans to enjoy!”
He also revealed plans for the camping experience: “Our Eddie’s Dive Bars have proved immensely popular on this current tour so our intention is to create our biggest one yet which will also be open on the Friday for the campers from the separate communal camping & glamping areas. For those lucky Friday night campers there will be a full program of Maiden-themed entertainment there that night, which we expect to include some live music, DJs, the aforementioned dive bar, along with other attractions and entertainment we are currently working on to make it the best warm up for the big day!
“So we hope you will join us next year as we continue to celebrate five decades of Iron Maiden. It’s going to be one for the history books…in a really historic venue!”
Tickets will go on sale Saturday, September 27 at 10 a.m. U.K. time through here, here, or here. Camping passes will be sold separately and are expected to sell out quickly.
The weekend festivities will kick off on Friday, July 10, with entertainment, food, drinks, and social areas opening for campers by mid-afternoon, ahead of the main event on Saturday.
Justin Hawkins, frontman of The Darkness, expressed his excitement: “We’re thrilled to announce that The Darkness are to appear live in support of the legendary Iron Maiden at Knebworth! Iron Maiden are among our favorite all-time bands and what’s more, they are named after my second favorite medieval torture device. My favorite would be the Pear Of Anguish. So those in attendance can expect us to force our music into them, whereupon the catchiness of our tuneage will expand until they tell us everything. Yay!!!”
Mongolian rock band The Hu, who recently toured North America with Iron Maiden, added: “We are very happy to be coming back to the U.K. and thrilled to perform at Knebworth Park, sharing the stage with the legendary band Iron Maiden once again, with their invite. We, The Hu, always look forward to creating an energetic show so it will be a day to remember.”
Joel O’Keefe of Airbourne also shared his enthusiasm: “I love Maiden, you love Maiden, Winston Churchill loves Maiden, we all love Iron Maiden! Knebworth will be a monumental maiden moment, it’s such an honor to rock with them on their home soil once again. Airbourne is pumped up to the max. We’ll give you all the rock’n’roll, blood sweat and flying beers we got in us! Then we’ll see you out front just in time for ‘Doctor Doctor’! Up The Irons!”
Ricky Warwick, lead singer of The Almighty, reflected on the significance of the event: “It’s an absolute honor to be part of such a fantastic bill. The Almighty share a long history with Iron Maiden, having opened for the mighty Irons on many occasions, and we count them as great friends. For me, it will be especially meaningful as it falls on my 60th birthday and I can’t think of a more rock ‘n’ roll way to celebrate. Bring it on!”
With a historic venue, legendary headliner, and an all-star supporting cast, this Knebworth weekend promises to be one of the most memorable events of 2026.
