The word ‘big’ doesn’t quite cover the panoramic sound that Arcade Fire have perfected over the past two decades. Win Butler, Régine Chassagne and their merry band of luddites have crafted six albums with massive emotional range and the kind of broad canvas that’s machine-tooled for arena singalongs.

And so the excitement for Arcade Fire’s summer tour of UK arenas is palpable. We’ve put together this handy article to help you find out where Arcade Fire are playing, when tickets go on sale, what presales are available, who’ll be supporting the band, and more. Read on and increase your chance of nabbing tickets. 

Where and when are Arcade Fire touring the UK? 

Arcade Fire will hit a number of major arenas across the UK, starting with Dublin’s 3 Arena on Tuesday 3 August, Birmingham’s Utilita Arena on Friday 2 September, Manchester’s AO Arena on Saturday 3 September, Glasgow’s OVO Hydro on Monday 5 September and London’s O2 Arena on Thursday 8 September. 

Here’s a list of every UK date the band will play: 

Tuesday 30 August - 3 Arena, Dublin

Friday 2 September - Utilita Arena, Birmingham 

Saturday 3 September - AO Arena, Manchester

Monday 5 September - OVO Hydro, Glasgow

Thursday 8 September – O2 Arena, London

When do tickets for Arcade Fire go on sale? 

Tickets for Arcade Fire’s arena tour of the UK go on sale at 10am on Friday 13 May. 

Where can I buy tickets for Arcade Fire’s tour?

Tickets for all UK dates are available from Ticketmaster, See Tickets and Live Nation. Tickets for the band's show at London’s O2 Arena are also available from AXS.

What presales are available for Arcade Fire’s tour?

An album pre-sale will be available from 10am on Wednesday 11 May until 9am on Friday 13 May for anyone who purchased the band’s latest album. An O2 presale will begin at 10am on Wednesday 11 May until 9am on Thursday 12 May. Finally, a Live Nation presale will take place at 10am on Thursday 12 May until 9am on Friday 13 May. 

How much will tickets for Arcade Fire’s shows cost?

We don’t yet know how much tickets for Arcade Fire cost, but we’ll update this section as soon as we find out. 

Who’ll be supporting Arcade Fire on tour?

Support on the UK leg of Arcade Fire’s tour will be provided by fellow Canadian singer-songwriter Feist, whose twinkling take on indie rock briefly placed her on the edge of stardom in the mid-2000s, even seeing her appear on an episode of Sesame Street with a cutesy rendition of her hit ‘1234’. 

Since those halcyon days, she’s written consistently brilliant albums, as well as moonlighting as guitarist for Broken Social Scene. Her last album Pleasure was released in 2017, and saw her grapple intensely with loneliness in a series of raw and earnest tunes. 

Give the Feist song ‘Century’, featuring Jarvis Cocker and Brian LeBarton, a listen: 

In a major coup for the band, living legend Beck will support Arcade Fire on all US dates with a nightly acoustic show of his extensive back catalogue. Want to see a support act upstage the headline set? Then book your flights to the US pronto. 

Is WE any good? 

After a tepid response to 2017’s modern dystopia Everything Now, Win Butler have gone back to basics for WE, with their most straightforward songs in over a decade. This is the band attempting to recapture the spark of 2007’s Neon Bible or 2010’s the Suburbs, with transcendent guitar hooks, propulsive drums, the faint whiff of religiosity, and choruses designed for the summer festival season. 

The approach has gained them broadly positive reviews from the press, with many viewing it as the band hitting the reset button after a creative misfire. For us, WE feels like the sequel to Arcade Fire’s mid-2000s period. They’re a little older and wiser, but the musical adventurousness that propelled their earlier albums has been gloriously reignited. 

Have a listen to the album’s lead single ‘The Lightning I, II’ and judge for yourself: 

What else have Arcade Fire been up to? 

The build-up to WE’s release has ushered Win Butler and his cohorts back into the spotlight with the kind of exposure that only the world’s biggest band can command. At Coachella, the band's first major appearance since the pandemic, Butler choked back tears midway through a song, claiming, ‘It’s been a hard couple fucking years.’

Shortly after, it was revealed that his emotional outburst may not have been solely pandemic-related when Will Butler, long-term member and Will’s younger brother, announced his departure from the band. 

Win Butler said of the departure, ‘I think that there’s things other than music that he has interest in. But I think fundamentally you only have one chance to raise your family and to kind of have a life with your family…. I’m proud of him for doing his own thing.’

Tumultuous times for Arcade Fire, then, but who could expect anything less from the world’s most emotionally earnest rock act? 

How can I guarantee that I’ll get tickets? 

While there are no 100% guarantees when it comes to nabbing tickets for a high profile act like Arcade Fire, a few of these strategies will serve you well. 

First, try every presale that we’ve mentioned in this article (take a look at the ‘What presales are available for Arcade Fire’s tour?’ section). 

Second, sign up to your preferred ticketing provider in advance, whether that’s Ticketmaster, AXS, See Tickets or Live Nation. 

When on-sale day finally does come around, log onto your ticketing provider, enter the queue and remember not to refresh the page. Good luck, and may the grace of Win Butler be by your side. 

Tickets for Arcade Fire’s UK tour go on sale at 10am on Friday 13 May.