IRON MAIDEN Announces European Tour With SHINEDOWN

Rock legends IRON MAIDEN continue their hugely successful "The Book of Souls" world tour into 2017 with a series of European arena shows opening in Antwerp, Belgium on April 22, MAIDEN's first visit to this city since 1981 on the "Killers" tour! The band then travel to Germany for shows in Oberhausen, Frankfurt and Hamburg before heading into the U.K. and Ireland for an extensive series of concerts in May. There will be eight dates across England in Nottingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle, Liverpool, Birmingham and London, two in Scotland in Glasgow and Aberdeen and one in Cardiff, Wales.

MAIDEN founder member and bass player Steve Harris says: "As it's been so long since our last full U.K. arena tour, we really wanted to get to our fans in as many cities as possible. We're really looking forward to it, especially visiting places we haven't been to for a very long time like Leeds where we haven't played since 2005 and Liverpool where we haven't played since 1990.

"The whole band is really enjoying this tour and although we love playing festivals and stadiums, it is terrific to return to the intimacy and atmosphere of arenas.

"The songs from 'The Book Of Souls' album and the new Maya-themed Eddies and stage sets have gone down really well and fan reaction has been amazing. And, of course, we know our fans appreciate us playing a lot of the older songs too, which we will continue to do."

The dates are:

Apr 22 - Belgium - Antwerp, Sportpaleis
Apr 24 - Germany - Oberhausen, König-Pilsener-Arena
Apr 28 - Germany - Frankfurt, Festhalle
May 02 - Germany - Hamburg, Barclaycard Arena
May 04 - England - Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
May 06 - Ireland - Dublin, 3arena
May 08 - England - Manchester, Arena
May 10 - England - Sheffield, Arena
May 11 - England - Leeds, First Direct Arena
May 14 - England - Newcastle, Metro Radio Arena
May 16 - Scotland - Glasgow SSE Hydro Arena
May 17 - Scotland - Aberdeen, AECC GE Oil & Gas Arena
May 20 - England - Liverpool, Echo Arena
May 21 - England - Birmingham, Barclaycard Arena
May 24 - Wales - Cardiff, Motorpoint Arena
May 27 - England - London, O2 Arena

No further European cities will be added to this schedule for 2017.

Special guests on all shows will be the American rockers SHINEDOWN.

SHINEDOWN's Zach Myers comments: "IRON MAIDEN are the kings of metal and one of the greatest live bands of all time. It's an honor to be touring with them in Europe and in their home country and to play in front of their fans. We can't wait to see you in 2017!!!"

There will be an exclusive pre-sale for IRON MAIDEN Fan Club members, details of which can be found on IronMaiden.com, along with information on how Fan Club members can participate in the draw to be "First To The Barrier."

IRON MAIDEN continue to be actively dedicated to ensuring their fans always have full access to the best possible tickets in the fairest possible way. Additionally, after great feedback to last year's North American trial of the concept, MAIDEN fans in the UK will, for the first time, be able to enjoy a Trooper VIP Upgrade package that will allow them early access to the venue, a pile of Trooper goodies and MAIDEN swag, Trooper beers, food and a designated area to meet with other fans, together with the opportunity to win some great prizes. The upgrade packages are available at £140 from TrooperVIP.com. The concert ticket must be purchased separately.

"The Book Of Souls" world tour opened in Florida, U.S.A in February 2016 visiting 36 countries using their new 747 jumbo jet Ed Force One piloted by singer Bruce Dickinson, which flew band, crew and 22 tons of equipment over 61,500 miles (99,000 km) across six continents during the 72-date leg, playing to around 1.5 million fans.

Tickets are on sale from 9 a.m. on Friday, September 30, priced at £57.50 / £49.50 / £46 Regionally and £57.50 / £50 / £48 for London (subject to per-ticket charge plus order processing fee) and are available from LiveNation.co.uk.