The organizers of the Sweden Rock Festival have released video footage of Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson cruising around the event grounds in a tank. The heavy metal legends headlined main stage today, Thursday, June 4, at the four-day festival currently underway in Sölvesborg, Sweden.
While joyriding in a military vehicle makes for a striking pre-show visual, Dickinson actually has a long, documented history with the British armed forces. Beyond his legendary music career, the singer has held a commercial pilot’s license for over 25 years and has directly assisted the military in a professional aviation capacity.
During a spoken-word performance in Kansas City, Missouri, in February 2022, Dickinson recounted a specific 2008 mission where he piloted a chartered Boeing 747 to transport Royal Air Force personnel home from a deployment in Afghanistan.
“One of the jobs that we had at the airline I worked for, we had an airplane permanently allocated to the military to go and take people places — not to wars, but we’d take them to bases,” Dickinson explained at the time. “And sometimes we flew people back. And sometimes we flew people back who had been in Afghanistan, for example, been in a war. They would go somewhere for two or three weeks to try and readjust and then we’d take them back. And one particular flight, we were the flying the Royal Air Force Regiment, which is RAF boots on the ground, soldiers. And they’d been to Afghanistan. It was an unusual flight ’cause we were returning them to their actual home base — not to a military airfield and then they get on a coach and they go back to their barracks.”
He detailed the emotional landing at RAF Wittering. The returning unit had recently suffered casualties overseas, and their families were permitted to wait directly on the runway to welcome them home.
“Where they were based had a runway, and we were told to go direct there. They had taken some casualties and they had lost some people. But they were all really cheerful; the best passengers you could ever have in the military — I mean, seriously… And we flew them into a place called the RAF Wittering, which is where they invented the Harrier Jump Jet. So, as we were coming in to land, we stopped and we blew the reverse thrust. And I had a female co-pilot, first officer. And we were looking out, and all really close to the runway were families, kids, all the families and wives and everybody of all the soldiers, and they were all [holding signs saying], ‘You’re my hero, daddy’ and everything else. I mean, it was very emotional. And we actually had to stop the airplane ’cause my co-pilot was welling up and so was I. We were both trying not to [cry]. I went, ‘Okay, we’re gonna stop. We’re gonna blow our noses, make sure we can f**king see where we’re going and then do the job. ‘Cause this is really exceptional.’ The last thing you wanna do is go, ‘It was so emotional, we ended up in a f**king ditch.’ So, we dropped them off and that was it. So that was one of the more memorable flights — the sort of thing we used to do.”
Dickinson‘s ties to the British military have only formalized since that flight. Six years ago, the vocalist was officially attested into the Royal Air Force and was awarded the rank of Honorary Group Captain. He also previously utilized a military runway to make an emergency landing at RAF Halton in 2015 after his personal Fokker triplane began running dangerously low on fuel.
Iron Maiden officially launched the 2026 leg of the “Run For Your Lives” tour in Greece on May 23. The ambitious anniversary trek features a setlist dedicated exclusively to the band’s groundbreaking first nine studio albums, accompanied by a massive, state-of-the-art stage production designed specifically for large outdoor venues. While the majority of the setlist mirrored the band’s 2025 itinerary, the crowd was treated to a massive, unexpected surprise. For the first time since 1988, the band performed “Infinite Dreams“, pulled directly from their classic seventh studio album, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. The track had not been played live since the original touring cycle supporting the LP nearly four decades ago.
Later this year, the heavy metal legends will bring the monumental tour across the Atlantic. As announced last October, the North American run will hit stadiums and major amphitheaters throughout the United States and Canada. The trek will also feature a headlining performance at the Louder Than Life festival in Kentucky on September 17, 2026.
Iron Maiden “Run For Your Lives” 2026 World Tour Dates:
- 06/06 – Nurnberg, GERMANY @ Zeppelinfeld (Rock IM Park)
- 06/07 – Nurburgring, GERMANY @ Rock AM Ring
- 06/10 – Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS @ Ziggo Dome (feat. Evergrey)
- 06/13 – Nickelsdorf, AUSTRIA @ Nova Rock
- 06/14 – Hradec Kralove, CZECH REPUBLIC @ Rock For People
- 06/17 – Milan, ITALY @ San Siro Stadium (feat. Trivium)
- 06/19 – Clisson, FRANCE @ Hellfest
- 06/22 – Paris, FRANCE @ Paris La Défense Arena (feat. Evergrey)
- 06/24 – 06/27 – Copenhagen, DENMARK @ Copenhell
- 06/25 – Oslo, NORWAY @ Tons of Rock
- 06/28 – Lyon, FRANCE @ Groupama Stadium (feat. Anthrax)
- 06/29 – Antwerp, BELGIUM @ Live is Live
- 07/01 – 07/04 – Viveiro, SPAIN @ Resurrection Fest
- 07/04 – Cartagena, SPAIN @ Rock Imperium Festival
- 07/07 – Lisbon, PORTUGAL @ Estádio da Luz (feat. Anthrax)
- 07/11 – Knebworth, UK @ EddFest (feat. The Darkness, The Hu, Airbourne, The Almighty)
- 08/29 – Toronto, ON, CANADA @ Scotiabank Arena (feat. Megadeth)
- 08/30 – Toronto, ON, CANADA @ Scotiabank Arena (feat. Megadeth)
- 09/03 – Montréal, QC, CANADA @ Parc Jean-Drapeau (feat. Megadeth, Anthrax)
- 09/05 – Harrison, NJ, USA @ Sports Illustrated Stadium (feat. Megadeth, Anthrax)
- 09/06 – Harrison, NJ, USA @ Sports Illustrated Stadium (feat. Megadeth, Anthrax)
- 09/09 – Boston, MA, USA @ TD Garden (feat. Megadeth)
- 09/11 – Bristow, VA, USA @ Jiffy Lube Live (feat. Megadeth)
- 09/12 – Charlotte, NC, USA @ PNC Music Pavilion (feat. Megadeth)
- 09/15 – Hershey, PA, USA @ Hersheypark Stadium (feat. Megadeth)
- 09/17 – Louisville, KY, USA @ Louder Than Life Festival
- 09/19 – Shakopee, MN, USA @ Mystic Lake Amphitheater (feat. Megadeth)
- 09/22 – Chicago, IL, USA @ Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre (feat. Megadeth)
- 09/25 – Los Angeles, CA, USA @ BMO Stadium (feat. Megadeth, Anthrax)
- 09/27 – Los Angeles, CA, USA @ BMO Stadium (feat. Megadeth, Anthrax)
- 09/29 – San Antonio, TX, USA @ Alamodome (feat. Megadeth, Anthrax)
- 10/02 – Mexico City, MEXICO @ Estadio GNP Seguros (feat. Anthrax)
- 10/05 – San Salvador, EL SALVADOR @ Estadio Jorge “Mágico” González (feat. The Raven Age, Souls of Steel)
- 10/08 – San José, COSTA RICA @ Estadio Nacional (feat. The Raven Age)
- 10/11 – Bogotá, COLOMBIA @ Vive Claro (feat. The Raven Age)
- 10/14 – Quito, ECUADOR @ Estadio Atahualpa (feat. The Raven Age)
- 10/17 – Lima, PERU @ Estadio Nacional (feat. The Raven Age)
- 10/20 – Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA @ Estadio Hurácan (feat. La H No Murió)
- 10/21 – Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA @ Estadio Hurácan (feat. La H No Murió)
- 10/25 – São Paulo, BRAZIL @ Allianz Parque (feat. Alter Bridge)
- 10/27 – São Paulo, BRAZIL @ Allianz Parque (feat. Alter Bridge)
- 10/31 – Santiago, CHILE @ Estadio Nacional (feat. Mammoth, Nuclear)
- 11/01 – Santiago, CHILE @ Estadio Nacional (feat. Mammoth, Nuclear)
- 11/07 – Auckland, NEW ZEALAND @ Spark Arena (feat. Megadeth)
- 11/11 – Adelaide, AUSTRALIA @ Adelaide Entertainment Centre (feat. Megadeth)
- 11/13 – Melbourne, AUSTRALIA @ AAMI Park (feat. Megadeth)
- 11/15 – Sydney, AUSTRALIA @ Allianz Stadium (feat. Megadeth)
- 11/18 – Brisbane, AUSTRALIA @ Brisbane Entertainment Centre (feat. Megadeth)
- 11/24 – Yokohama, JAPAN @ K-Arena
- 11/25 – Yokohama, JAPAN @ K-Arena
