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Boyzone explain why they're not touring after announcement of one-off gig

Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch appeared on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday

Irish band Boyzone have explained why they are not touring after the announcement of their one-off headline show in London for 2026.


The band are set to reunite to perform a 'world exclusive' headline show at Emirates Stadium on Saturday, June 6.


The reunion is set to include all original members of the band who have not performed together in years - Ronan Keating, Mikey Graham, Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch.


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They are set to pay tribute to their late friend Stephen Gately during the gig, reports the Mirror. Ronan, Keith and Shane appeared on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday, September 30, and explained why they will not be touring.

Keating said: “We were very lucky to play multiple arenas across the UK, with 10 nights at Wembley, 10 nights in Manchester… but we never played stadiums as a band.

“And it's always been, you know, well, a dream of all of ours to do that.


“Heartbreaking without Steo (Stephen Gately), but to kind of write this final chapter.

"Listen, we're not making new music. It's not a reunion.. It's not all of that… there's plenty of bands out there doing that.


“Everybody has been part of Boyzone's journey. This story, they've shared, they've cried with us, they've laughed with us through the documentary.

“And now, you know, to get to Emirates together, all of us and say our final farewell the way we want to do it will be pretty powerful, I think.”

The announcement of the huge one-off gig comes after the success of the documentary Boyzone: No Matter What on Sky.


BBC Breakfast's Sally Nugent said: “A lot of the documentary… a lot of it is about grief and acceptance, isn't it? How do you heal from what happened? How have you managed to do that?”

Ronan answered: “I don't know if you heal, I think you put a band-aid on it and you crack on. And that's kind of what we've done.


“We've been together, we've been apart. We do find it easier when we're together, because Steo is alive when we're together. So that's a beautiful thing. That's very special, but it's going to be hard to stand up on that stage without him, that's for sure.”

And Keith Duffy told: "It's just, it's a celebration. It's the final chapter. It's just us boys one last time on stage together. You know, it's not a tour. It's not going to be a tour…

“It's a celebration, it’s a party..."


Shane Lynch added: “It's one for the road is what it is, 33 and a third years together, and one for the road.”

Irish Boyzone vans have voiced their disappointment on social media that the band will not be performing in Ireland.

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