The Killers have been confirmed as the latest act to headline the UEFA Champions League Final. Sponsored by Pepsi, the final will take place in Budapest on May 30th. As part of the annoucement, Guy Laurent Epstein, UEFA Events Market Director said that of the final that “this year’s edition is shaping up to be one of the most spectacular yet”. However, the prestige and fame of what is consistently one of the biggest footballing events of the year will not faze the rock band who have headlined Wembley, Madison Square Garden and Glastonbury both in 2007 and 2019 – a testament to their longevity.
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Now made up of Brandon Flowers, Dave Keuning, Ronnie Vannuci Jr and Mark Stoeremer, the Killers were formed in Las Vegas in 2001. Considered one of the biggest rock bands of the 21st century, the Killers have been nominated for seven Grammy Awards, seven Brit Awards and a staggering twenty-four NME Awards. Their popularity extends greatly to the UK where each of their seven albums have reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. Their performance at the Champions League Final could contribute greatly to a night to remember for British fans as the final could still be made up of two English teams with Liverpool and Arsenal remaining in the competition. They head into the quarterfinals against Paris Saint-Germain and Sporting Lisbon respectively in April.
Musical performances at the Champions League final are a relatively new development for the competition which was originally founded in 1955. However after drawing from inspiration from the infamous NFL Superbowl Halftime shows, the first performance at the Champions League Final was by Dua Lipa in 2018. There was a brief gap between performances before Camila Cabello performed in 2022, followed by Lenny Kravitz in 2024 and Linkin Park in 2025.
American influences on European and English football has increased tenfold perhaps owing to actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny’s well documented journey as they bought then, national league team Wrexham. Following huge investment and media interest, Wrexham have now reached the Championship and are on course to play in the Premier League sooner rather than later. Furthermore, football based sitcom ‘Ted Lasso’ which follows an American coach in the UK has received mass critical acclaim and the US President Donald Trump was a guest of honour at the recent Club World Cup competition which was won by English club Chelsea.
The band are currently on a run of shows in South America with tickets available now before they head to Budapest for the final.
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Fans can also expect the release of the eight studio album following confirmation from lead vocalist Flowers who told the Sun; “My best guess is that in 2027 you will get the best Killers record”.
