Iron Maiden have confirmed the first dates of what promises to be a very busy 2026 touring schedule, beginning with a summer return to Europe for a run of festivals and stadiums across the continent. The tour will take the band to regions not visited in 2025, with additional global legs to be announced soon. The band also confirmed that 2027 will be a year off the road.
Steve Harris on the tour: "We are all loving this Run For Your Lives tour. The fans have been amazing, the set list is perfect for the 50th Anniversary, the show is arguably our best ever and ticket demand was incredible with pretty much everywhere sold out and over a million fans attending. So we all thought we should play some more shows in Europe before heading out to other parts of the world later in the year.
"Of course Simon Dawson will be joining us once again on the drummer's stool, and both he and the whole band would like to thank our fans for the terrific reception you have given him on the first leg.
"We've always enjoyed playing festivals, especially as we get to play to people who aren't just there for us, and we love that challenge! Plus we will also get to play stadiums in Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Bulgaria where we didn't get to this year and have always loved playing to the passionate fans out there."
Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood added: "We were absolutely blown away by the overwhelmingly positive reaction of our fans and from across the mainstream media to the first leg of our Run For Your Lives tour. We knew we had created a special show, but the energy of all our fans at every single concert we played was picked up on by the band and I think we all experienced something really memorable, and arguably our best tour ever.
"Throughout our career festivals played a huge part, starting with Rock in Rio in 1985 of course, by enabling us to play in front of new fans and hopefully convert them to being Maiden fans. So this tour, based around most of Europe's pre-eminent Metal fests, is also a huge thank you to those very festivals for playing such an important part in the fifty years… and counting… story of Iron Maiden.
"Besides Eastern Europe we will also play some stadium shows in regions we missed in Germany (Hannover), France (Lyon-Décines) and Italy, the latter at Milan's legendary San Siro Stadium… and we will, I am told, be the first ever Metal band to play there. It's always great to break more new ground – even after all these years!"
Iron Maiden will return to Paris La Défense Arena on June 22nd, 2026 to film the show for release. To preserve the atmosphere and avoid banks of glowing phone screens in the footage, the arena floor will be entirely phone-free with Yondr pouches. The rest of the venue will rely on fans' cooperation to keep phones in pockets and enjoy the performance "in the moment."
The schedule also lists "UK Headline Show" for July 11, with the band promising something special for their loyal home fans, including an extension of their popular Eddie's Dive Bar concept. Details will be revealed soon.
5/23 Athens, GR OAKA
5/26 Sofia, BG Vasil Levski Stadium
5/28 Bucharest, RO Arena Națională
5/30 Bratislava, SK Národný Futbalový Štadión
6/2 Hannover, DE Heinz von Heiden Arena
6/10 Amsterdam, NL Ziggo Dome
6/17 Milan, IT San Siro Stadium
6/22 Paris, FR Paris La Défense Arena (filmed show)
6/28 Lyon-Décines, FR Groupama Stadium
7/7 Lisbon, PT Estádio da Luz
7/11 UK Headline Show – Details TBA
