Boyzone announce one-off ‘final farewell’ gig

Irish group Boyzone have announced they are to play a one-off concert at London’s Emirates Stadium next year.

The event, entitled One For The Road, will take place at the Arsenal football ground on Saturday 6 June 2026.

Singer Ronan Keating described the stadium gig – the first and biggest of their career – as a “final farewell” for the 1990s boyband who had hits with ballads including Words and No Matter What.

It will be their first performance together since a five-night run at the London Palladium in 2019 and comes off the back of a positive reaction to their recent documentary, Boyzone: No Matter What.

“We’re not making new music, it’s not a reunion,” Keating told BBC Breakfast on Tuesday. “There’s plenty of bands out there doing that.

“Everybody has been part of Boyzone’s journey, this story they’ve shared, they’ve cried with us, they’ve laughed with us through the documentary.

“And now, to get to Emirates together, all of us, and say our final farewell the way we want to do it, will be pretty powerful.”

Fellow singer Shane Lynch admitted he had previously thought the group, which also includes Keith Duffy and Mikey Graham, would “definitely not share a stage again.”

Duffy confirmed that it is “not going to be a tour.” He added: “It’s a celebration, it’s the final chapter, it’s us boys, one last time on stage together.”

Brit Award-winners Boyzone scored six UK number one singles and plan to play all their hits at the concert where, they hinted, they could be joined by some “friends”.

Their recent documentary looked back on their career and tackled the topic of grief following the death of their bandmate Stephen Gately in 2009 aged 33.

Asked by BBC Breakfast presenter Sally Nugent how the band had healed after what they had been through, Keating replied: “I don’t know if you heal.”

“I think you put a band aid on it and you crack on, and that’s what we’ve done,” he continued.

“We’ve been together, we’ve been apart. We do find it easier when we’re together, because Steo [Gately] is alive when we’re together. So that’s a beautiful thing…

“But it’s gonna be hard to stand up on that stage without him, that’s for sure.”

Fans can register to access a ticket pre-sale from 09:00 GMT on Tuesday 7 October, before all remaining tickets go on general sale from 09:00 GMT on Friday 10 October.