Heavy metal legends Iron Maiden have officially revealed the support acts for select dates on the European leg of their highly anticipated Run For Your Lives World Tour 2026. The tour, which celebrates the band’s 50th anniversary, will see them joined by a formidable lineup of special guests including Anthrax, Megadeth, Trivium, and Evergrey.
The announcement adds even more firepower to what is already shaping up to be a historic trek. Iron Maiden will be revisiting their first nine studio albums—from 1980’s Iron Maiden to 1992’s Fear of the Dark—promising a setlist packed with classics like “The Trooper,” “Run to the Hills,” and rarer cuts that may never be played live again.
Anthrax will serve as the primary support for the Eastern and Southern European dates. The “Big Four” thrash icons are set to open for Iron Maiden in Athens, Sofia, Bucharest, and Bratislava in late May, as well as key dates in Lyon and Lisbon later in the summer.
In a massive billing for German fans, Megadeth has been confirmed as the special guest for the June 2 show at the Heinz von Heiden Arena in Hannover. This follows the previous announcement that Dave Mustaine and co. will also be joining Iron Maiden for their U.S. stadium dates in 2026.
For the show at Milan’s legendary San Siro Stadium on June 17, modern metal titans Trivium have been tapped to support. The San Siro date is particularly significant, as Iron Maiden will be the first-ever heavy metal band to play the iconic football stadium.
Swedish progressive metal masters Evergrey will take the stage for two major arena dates: the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam on June 10 and the Paris La Défense Arena on June 22. The Paris concert is notably designated as a “phone-free” event, utilizing Yondr pouches to ensure an immersive experience for the live filming of the show.
Bassist and founder Steve Harris has previously expressed his excitement for the tour’s scale and the band’s history with these venues.
“We are all loving this Run For Your Lives tour. The fans have been amazing, the setlist is perfect for the 50th anniversary, the show is arguably our best ever,” Harris said in a statement regarding the tour’s initial launch. “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! So we decided to revisit as many great Metal festivals as we could get to in this period. Plus we will also get to play stadiums in Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria where we didn’t get to this year.”
Frontman Bruce Dickinson echoed the sentiment, hinting at the finality of this specific setlist for many of the songs.
“We’re gonna be doing stuff we’ve never, ever done before,” Dickinson promised. “This whole tour has been such great fun. I really enjoy belting out all these great old songs… We’ve got all the big ones from that early period including ‘Hallowed [Be Thy Name],’ ‘Run to the Hills,’ ‘The Trooper‘… and some of them we haven’t played in years!”
Iron Maiden – Run For Your Lives European Tour 2026 Support Acts
MAY 2026
- 23 – Athens, GREECE – OAKA (with Anthrax)
- 26 – Sofia, BULGARIA – Vasil Levski Stadium (with Anthrax)
- 28 – Bucharest, ROMANIA – Arena Națională (with Anthrax)
- 30 – Bratislava, SLOVAKIA – Národný Futbalový Štadión (with Anthrax)
JUNE 2026
- 02 – Hannover, GERMANY – Heinz von Heiden Arena (with Megadeth)
- 10 – Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS – Ziggo Dome (with Evergrey)
- 17 – Milan, ITALY – San Siro Stadium (with Trivium)
- 22 – Paris, FRANCE – Paris La Défense Arena (with Evergrey)
- 28 – Lyon – Décines, FRANCE – Groupama Stadium (with Anthrax)
JULY 2026
- 07 – Lisbon, PORTUGAL – Estádio da Luz (with Anthrax)
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