The Script returns to London with a new album and a huge O2 show

Sad bangers season at the O2

Danny O'Donoghue of The Script performs onstage at the Isle of Wight Festival
(Image credit: Photo by Mark Holloway/Redferns via Getty Images)

The Script are heading back to London next year with a huge headline show at The O2 as part of their newly announced 2026 UK and Ireland arena tour. The band will play the Greenwich venue on the 21st of November, with the show acting as one of the final dates of the entire run and effectively capping off another massive touring chapter for the Irish trio.

The London date arrives after the release of their new album The User’s Guide To Being Human, which lands on August 14 and marks the beginning of a brand new era for the band following 2024’s Satellites.

Alongside the album announcement, the band also dropped a new single, Man In The Arena, a huge, emotionally-charged anthem that feels purpose-built for arena crowds. Which is The Script’s entire speciality at this point.

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Frontman Danny O'Donoghue has described the new record as an exploration of the full spectrum of human emotion, continuing the deeply personal direction the band moved towards after the death of founding guitarist Mark Sheehan in 2023.

That grief shaped Satellites, a record that became a tribute both to Sheehan and the band’s long history together. The following world tour leaned heavily into that emotion, too, with shows often becoming massive communal sing-alongs somewhere between celebration and therapy sessions.

Now, though, The User’s Guide To Being Human feels more forward-looking, with The Script leaning back into the giant uplifting hooks and stadium-ready ambition that turned them into one of the biggest bands of the last 15 years.

The numbers behind them are still kind of ridiculous. The band have racked up six UK number one albums, more than 14 billion streams and over 5 million album sales worldwide, while tracks like Breakeven, Hall Of Fame and The Man Who Can't Be Moved have basically become permanent fixtures of heartbreak playlists, pub jukeboxes and people dramatically staring out of train windows.

Before the arena tour even begins, The Script also has a huge summer lined up supporting Take That and Luke Combs at stadium dates across the UK and Ireland, including a massive show at Slane Castle.

By the time they finally arrive at The O2 next November, there’s a very good chance London will be getting a band fully locked into full arena-headliner mode.

There are few venues more suited to a Script show than The O2. It’s exactly the sort of place where thousands of people can collectively scream the chorus to Breakeven like they’re going through the worst breakup of their lives, even if they’re actually just on a Tuesday night out in Greenwich.

Fans who pre-order the album through the band’s official store will get access to tour pre-sale tickets from the 27th of May, while general sale begins two days later on the 29th.


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Morgan Truder
Staff Writer

Morgan got his start in writing by talking about his passion for gaming. He worked for sites like VideoGamer and GGRecon, knocking out guides, writing news, and conducting interviews before a brief stint as RealSport101's Managing Editor. He then went on to freelance for Radio Times before joining Shortlist as a staff writer. Morgan is still passionate about gaming and keeping up with the latest trends, but he also loves exploring his other interests, including grimy bars, soppy films, and wavey garms. All of which will undoubtedly come up at some point over a pint.

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