Guns N' Roses, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park set to headline Download Festival 2026 - full list of acts announced

• Guns N’Roses, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park are set to headline Download Festival 2026.
• The announcement, which took place in London moments ago, also confirms an additional 80+ acts performing next year.
• They include Cypress Hill, Cavalera, Mastodon, Architects and even Keanu Reeves...

After months of speculating, including our final deep dive into who could perform at Download Festival in 2026, it’s time to put much of that guesswork to bed as the organisers have officially announced your first wave of acts ahead of next summer’s event.

At a glittery launch party being held at the Barbican in London this evening, Download Festival confirmed that your first three headline acts performing next year will be Guns N’Roses, Linkin Park, and Limp Bizkit.

Nu-metal legends Limp Bizkit are set to headline on Friday night, marking their very first time topping the bill in their 31-year career. After dominating the crowd at Donington with their incendiary performance in 2024, they proved exactly why they deserve to be a Download headliner. With never-ending hits—including ‘Rollin’ (Air Raid Vehicle)’, ‘Break Stuff’, and ‘My Generation’—Limp Bizkit will be sure to blow the crowd away and set the bar high for the rest of the weekend.

Saturday headliner Guns N’ Roses needs no introduction. They truly are rock royalty, having released their trail-blazing debut album ‘Appetite For Destruction’ in 1987 and never looking back. The icons have headlined Download twice before but have not graced the hallowed grounds of Donington since 2018. Their return in 2026—a full 20 years after first headlining in 2006—will be well and truly legendary.

The festival’s grand finale will come at the hands of the gargantuan Linkin Park. The rock legends headlined Download with their original line-up four times between 2004 and 2014, but this will be their first time headlining the festival with their new lead singer, Emily Armstrong, since their reformation in 2024. It is sure to be an incredibly poignant and powerful set with Emily Armstrong and Mike Shinoda at the helm.

A host of other huge names were also confirmed among this first announcement, including Trivium, Ice Nine Kills, and even Cypress Hill. Eagle-eyed fans will also see the inclusion of BABYMETAL, Mastodon, Static-X, Cavalera and Dogstar, who also happens to be the musical project of one John Wick - aka Keanu Reeves.

Here’s the full line-up of acts confirmed so far for your 23rd edition of Download Festival next year!

Download Festival 2026 - confirmed acts for next year’s event.

• Limp Bizkit
• Guns N’ Roses
• Linkin Park
• Ankor
• Architects
• As Everything Unfolds
• As It Is
• Ash
• BABYMETAL
• Bad Omens
• Behemoth
• Black Veil Brides
• Blood Incantation
• Bloodywood
• Boundaries
• Bush
• Catch Your Breath
• Cavalera
• Corrosion Of Conformity
• Cypress Hill
• Decapitated
• Die Spitz
• Dinosaur Pile-Up
• Dogstar
• Drain
• Drowning Pool
• Ego Kill Talent
• Elder
• Electric Callboy
• Feeder
• Gatecreeper
• Halestorm
• Headwreck
• Hollywood Undead
• Holywatr
• Ice Nine Kills
• Imminence
• Ivri
• James And The Cold Gun
• Kublai Khan TX
• Lake Malice
• Lakeview
• Landmvrks
• Last Train
• Letlive.
• Lowen
• Magnolia Park
• Mammoth

• Mastodon
• Melrose Avenue
• Mouth Culture
• Nasty
• Native James
• Nevertel
• P.O.D
• Palefeace Swiss
• Pendulum
• Periphery
• Pussyliquor
• Rain City Drive
• Return To Dust
• Røry
• Scene Queen
• Self Deception
• Set It Off
• Silent Planet
• Slay Squad
• Sleep Theory
• Snot
• Social Distortion
• South Arcade
• Spineshank
• Spitting Glass
• Static-X
• Story Of The Year
• Sweet Pill
• Sweet Savage
• Tailgunner
• The All-American Rejects
• The Plot In You
• The Pretty Reckless
• The Pretty Wild
• Thornhill
• Those Damn Crows
• Thrown
• Tom Morello
• Trivium
• Tropic Gold
• Tx2
• Unpeople
• Vianova
• Wayside
• We Came As Romans
• Zero 9:36

When do tickets for Download Festival 2026 go on sale?

A selection of tickets have already gone on sale through Ticketmaster shortly before this evening’s announcement

But as of writing, the remaining allocation of tickets, including day and weekend passes, are now available for purchase through the ticketing agent.

What are your thoughts on the first announcement of acts for Download Festival 2026 - and were we right with any of our predictions? Leave your thoughts on the Facebook post you’ve seen this shared to, or drop an email to the writer of the article.