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The Rolling Stones have reportedly shelved plans for a major European and UK stadium tour in 2026, with guitarist Keith Richards said to be unwilling to commit to another large-scale run of shows.
According to The Sun, the band had been in discussions with multiple major promoters about a summer stadium tour next year, with dates and concepts already being proposed. However, those plans failed to progress after internal discussions within the band.
“The Rolling Stones had all the big promoters throwing loads of ideas and dates at them for next summer,” an unnamed American music critic told the publication. “But when they properly sat down to discuss the tour, Keith said he didn’t think he could commit and wasn’t keen on a big stadium tour over four months.”
The report follows comments made in September by guitarist Ronnie Wood, who told The Sun that the band was working on a new album and suggested that live shows could follow in 2026. The Stones last released a studio album in 2023 with Hackney Diamonds, their first collection of new material in nearly two decades.
In 2024, the band took Hackney Diamonds on the road with a North American stadium tour, which proved to be one of the most successful live runs of the year. The Hackney Diamonds Tour grossed $235 million and sold 47,100 tickets, according to Pollstar Boxoffice. The tour ranked No. 6 on Pollstar’s 2024 Top 10 Worldwide Tours chart, averaging more than $13 million per show.
While no official reason has been given for Richards’ reluctance to commit to another major tour, the guitarist has previously spoken about the physical impact of ageing. In a 2023 interview with the BBC, Richards acknowledged that arthritis has affected his playing, though he downplayed its severity.
“Funnily enough, I’ve no doubt it has, but I don’t have any pain, it’s sort of a benign version,” Richards said at the time. “I think if I’ve slowed down a little bit, it’s probably due more to age.”
Reflecting on adapting his playing style, Richards added: “When I’m like, ‘I can’t quite do that anymore,’ the guitar will show me there’s another way of doing it. Some finger will go one space different and a whole new door opens.”
Richards turns 82 this week.
English (US) ·