Download Festival, the spiritual home of heavy music in the United Kingdom, will roar back to life in 2026 for its 23rd edition, rebranded as DLXXIII. From 10 to 14 June 2026, Donington Park in Leicestershire will once again become the global epicentre of rock, metal and alternative music with three colossal headliners, Limp Bizkit, Guns N’ Roses and Linkin Park, performing their only UK shows of the year.
This is more than just another Download lineup, it’s a landmark moment in festival history. Each of the three headliners represents a different generation of rock evolution, creating a cross-era bill designed to appeal to everyone from Gen X metalheads to Gen Z alt fans.
It’s taken 31 years, but nu-metal veterans Limp Bizkit will finally headline Download. Fred Durst and crew last appeared at Donington in 2024, delivering a chaotic and nostalgic set that left fans clamouring for more. Next year they’ll take top billing on Friday night, with a full career-spanning set likely to feature the genre-defining hits “Rollin’ (Air Raid Vehicle)”, “Break Stuff”, and “My Generation”.
Emerging from Jacksonville, Florida in the mid-1990s, Limp Bizkit became one of the key architects of nu-metal’s late-90s explosion, alongside Linkin Park, Korn and Slipknot. Their 2000 album Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water sold over 8 million copies in the US alone and cemented their place in the modern rock canon.
Saturday’s headline set will belong to Guns N’ Roses, marking 20 years since they first topped the Download bill in 2006. The band has headlined twice before but hasn’t graced Donington since 2018. With Appetite For Destruction (1987) still ranked among the greatest debut albums of all time, the Gunners continue to command an almost mythic status among fans.
The band’s current lineup, featuring Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan, remains one of the most stable since their reunion in 2016. Download 2026 will be their only UK performance, a rare opportunity for British fans to see the full classic lineup in action.
The festival’s grand finale will see Linkin Park headline Download for the first time since their reformation in 2024 with Emily Armstrong of Dead Sara joining as lead vocalist. This will mark the first female-fronted headline performance in Download’s 23-year history.
Linkin Park first performed at Donington in 2004 and went on to headline four times between 2004 and 2014, during their run as one of the world’s biggest rock bands. Following the death of frontman Chester Bennington in 2017, the band went on hiatus until Armstrong joined the lineup in 2024. Their new era has been met with both acclaim and controversy, but Armstrong and co-founder Mike Shinoda have emphasised their commitment to honouring Bennington’s legacy while writing new material.
Supporting the three headliners is a sprawling lineup featuring Bad Omens, Cypress Hill, Trivium, Halestorm, Pendulum, Electric Callboy, The All-American Rejects, Mastodon, BABYMETAL, Architects, Ice Nine Kills, Tom Morello, Black Veil Brides, Bush, Feeder, Periphery, The Pretty Reckless, Letlive., Static-X, P.O.D., Story Of The Year, We Came As Romans, Hollywood Undead, Kublai Khan TX, Dogstar (featuring actor Keanu Reeves on bass), and many more.
From veterans like Corrosion of Conformity to new-era heavyweights like Sleep Theory and Magnolia Park, DLXXIII promises to showcase the full spectrum of modern rock – from classic anthems to boundary-pushing sounds.
The 2026 lineup was unveiled at a grand launch event at London’s Barbican, complete with an immersive short film introducing “The Apex Rings,” symbolic artefacts created for each headliner in collaboration with London jewellers The Great Frog. Guests were treated to string quartets, fortune tellers and a preview of “District X,” a new immersive zone at the festival.
Since its inception in 2003, Download has carried the torch first lit by the legendary Monsters of Rock festivals held at Donington from 1980 to 1996. From AC/DC to Iron Maiden, Metallica and Slipknot, Donington has been synonymous with rock greatness. DLXXIII will once again uphold that legacy – bridging generations of fans while keeping its eyes firmly on the future of heavy music.
DOWNLOAD XXIII DATES
📅 June 10 – 14, 2026
📍 Donington Park, Leicestershire, UK
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