Despite their upcoming induction, British heavy metal legends IRON MAIDEN have confirmed they will not attend the 2026 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. The event is set for November 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, but the band will be in the middle of their Australian tour, with scheduled performances on November 13 in Melbourne and November 15 in Sydney.
MAIDEN manager Rod Smallwood explained the decision in an e-mail to Billboard: “As the most observant have already noticed, the band will be on tour in Australia around the November date of the induction ceremony for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in Los Angeles. In accepting, IRON MAIDEN made it very clear to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame that the fans always come first and that the shows will, of course, go on.
“As the most observant have already noticed, the band will be on tour in Australia around the November date of the induction ceremony for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in Los Angeles. In accepting, IRON MAIDEN made it very clear to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame that the fans always come first and that the shows will, of course, go on.
“We would like to assure all our fans in Australasia that the Australian and New Zealand dates will remain unaffected,” Smallwood added, “and we look forward to bringing the ‘Run For Your Lives’ tour to them on the penultimate stop of our 50th-anniversary celebrations.”
The Australasian run will launch on November 7 with the first of two shows at Spark Arena in Auckland, followed by stops at Adelaide Entertainment Centre (November 11), AAMI Park (November 13), Allianz Stadium (November 15), and concluding with two nights at Brisbane Entertainment Centre on November 18 and 19. Support on the tour will come from MEGADETH.
IRON MAIDEN were recently announced as part of a star-studded 2026 induction class that also includes Phil Collins, Billy Idol, JOY DIVISION / NEW ORDER, OASIS, SADE, Luther Vandross and WU-TANG CLAN in the Performer category, with additional honors going to Celia Cruz, Fela Kuti, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte and Gram Parsons (Early Influence Award), as well as Linda Creed, Arif Mardin, Jimmy Miller and Rick Rubin (Musical Excellence Award). The Ahmet Ertegun Award will be presented to Ed Sullivan.
IRON MAIDEN’s relationship with the Rock Hall has historically been a complicated one, with members previously expressing skepticism toward the institution. Singer Bruce Dickinson once famously criticized it, calling it “an utter and complete load of bollocks run by a bunch of sanctimonious bloody Americans who wouldn’t know rock and roll if it hit them in the face.”
Similarly, MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris told Rolling Stone he isn’t concerned about the band’s omission. “I don’t mind that we’re not in things like that. I don’t think about things like that. It’s very nice if people give you awards or accolades, but we didn’t get into the business for that sort of thing. I’m certainly not going to lose sleep if we don’t get any sort of award, not just that one, any award. I don’t think we deserve to have this or that necessarily. With what we do, whatever comes of it is great. Whatever doesn’t come of it is great, too.”
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