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 UK and Ireland for an extensive series of concerts in May. There will be 8 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 UK 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 American arena headliners SHINEDOWN www.shinedown.com
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 honour 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 www.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.  Their latest stance on combatting ticket touts for the 2017 UK dates can be found here http://ironmaiden.com/news/article/iron-maiden-announce-extensive-plans-to-protect-their-fans-from-ticket-piracy-profiteering-and-counterfeiting
 
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 www.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 Bruce which flew band, crew and 22 tonnes of equipment over 61,500 miles (99,000 km) across six continents during the 72 date leg playing to around 1.5 million fans. The Book Of Souls is Maiden’s first ever double studio album and their most successful chart-wise to date, debuting at the #1 spot in over 40 countries around the globe.
 
www.ironmaiden.com
 
NOTES:

• The Book Of Souls album debuted at #1 in 24 territories : Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Croatia, Czech Rep, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary,  Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. PLUS #1 in a further 19 territories where physical/retail charts are no longer published, only Digital ones: Bolivia, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Nepal, Nicaragua, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Romania, Slovakia. The album also debuted at #2 in Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland and New Zealand, #3 in Turkey and #4 in the USA and South Africa.

 Tickets are on-sale from 9am on Friday 30th September 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 www.livenation.co.uk
 
For more info and press enquiries, please contact:
 
Chris Dean
chris.dean@wilfulpublicity.co.uk
 
William Luff
william.luff@wilfulpublicity.co.uk