Our friends over at Download Festival HQ have been teasing their next announcement for just over a week now. We’re pretty sure it is going to be the second (and maybe last?) set of new bands and artists joining the line up. As Download tradition goes, this second announcement feels pretty late. But then, not all first announcements have had the 90ish bands the first wave of 2026 had (you can read that here as a reminder).
We all know, part of the fun with festival line ups is the speculation and guesswork. Who’s going to clash with who? What stage are band X or act Y going to be on? So, with that in mind, here’s five things beyond the bleeding obvious “who else is playing?” that we’d like to find out in the new announcement:
1) Are Guns N’ Roses Going To Insist On “All Eyes On Them” Again?
Cast your minds back to Download 2018. GnR, and (we suspect) specifically Axl, being Axl, did not want any big clashes happening during their three hour long set – which was either a total triumph, or one of the worst in recent Download history, depending on who you talk to. Only the Dogtooth Stage carried on with something like a normal schedule. This led to the slightly ridiculous situation of second stage headliners Parkway Drive going on with their pyro filled show at 6:15pm. Of course the Australians took it in their stride as they usually do, delivering what many, including this writer, saw as the best performance of the whole weekend.
The question is, are we in for a repeat this time around? For the non Guns N’ Roses fans among the attendees, we hope the answer is no.
2) Where Are Scooter?
Download Festival head honcho Kamran Haq and his team delighted A LOT of people with an announcement just before Christmas. After years of fans asking, and especially after the success of the Vengaboys in District X in 2025, Scooter would be coming to Download. They’re also not playing District X, they’re on the main arena line up too. We would say it’s a fairly safe bet they’re going to be in the Avalanche Stage, as the biggest tent at Download feels the right setting for that performance. But when? Will they headline? Which bands are going to have the unenviable job of playing at the same time? We can foresee a Busted style situation with queues stretching back as far as the eye can see for this one.
3) Which Younger / Newer Band Is Going To Have That Main Stage Breakthrough Moment?
From Trivium in 2005 through to Alien Weaponry in 2019 and most recently Bloodywood in 2023, over the years at Download there’s been some truly memorable performance by newer bands either opening, or performing very early in the day on the main stage. For Trivium, it catapulted a 20+ year career which sees them in their biggest ever slot on the Download poster and line up in 2026. Bloodywood are already filling main support slots in arenas less than three years on from their day stealing performance. And while things haven’t been quite as smooth for Alien Weaponry, the Mauri metal trio have regrouped after line up changes and issues and are working their way back. So, who’s it going to be this year? Sleep Theory? Thrown? Our friends As Everything Unfolds? Feel free to tell us who you think could be the breakout stars of Download 2026 in the comments or on social media.
4) What is Download Going To Make Of Blood Incantation?
Up there on an “Anaal Nathrakh” from last year in terms of the “holy **** we did not see that coming”, the self described Cosmic Death Metal specialists Blood Incantation make their Download Festival debut in 2026. Not only that, they are a “logo band” on the poster. As a result, we’re going to take a leap of faith and suggest they might be headlining the Dogtooth Stage on one of the days, which feels like the natural slot for them. In a tent, late enough in the day that it should be dark / almost dark, in the atmospheric settings where they should do best. It could be one of the sets of the weekend. Between the devoted and the curious, we are willing to bet it’ll be rammed too. Make it happen Download team!
5) Will Cypress Hill Bring The London Symphony Orchestra With Them?
OK, this one is both pretty out there, and tongue-in-cheek, but if you know your Simpsons references, you will understand why we are asking this.
What does raise the slight possibility of it happening, is that Cypress Hill did in fact make good on the (then) 30 year old meme by doing a show with The London Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 2024. And by all accounts, it was incredible. So here’s hoping for a bit of a repeat.
The new announcement may answer all, some, or indeed none of these questions! Lets see what happens tomorrow. The Download Festival 2026 line up currently boasts 90 bands including headliners Limp Bizkit, Guns N’ Roses and Linkin Park, with a supporting cast including Cypress Hill, Trivium, Architects, Bad Omens, Halestorm, Feeder, Ice Nine Kills, Babymetal, Behemoth and many, many more.
Tickets for Download Festival 2026 are on sale now. If you’ve yet to get yours, you can head over to Ticketmaster and pick some up on this link! We’ll see you at the hallowed Donington turf in June!
