We’re excited to announce the line-up for this year’s #TeenageCancerGigs at the @RoyalAlbertHall!

Tickets on sale Friday 12 Jan at 9:00am https://t.co/e6jo2B8WzP pic.twitter.com/G6BQLZs2tx

— Teenage Cancer Trust (@TeenageCancer) January 8, 2024

The event will kick off on Monday, March 18, with The Who, backed by an orchestra, and special guests Squeeze. There will be a night of comedy on Tuesday, March 19, with the full line-up to be announced soon, and Wednesday, March 20 will see The Who and Squeeze welcomed back to the Royal Albert Hall for the second time. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will then perform on Thursday, March 21, along with indie rock special guests Blossoms.

Friday, March 22 will see Scottish progressive hip-hop group Young Fathers kick off the weekend, followed by a headline Saturday show from The Chemical Brothers, alongside DJ James Holroyd, on March 23. The week-long fundraising extravaganza will conclude on Sunday, March 24 with an Ovation, bringing together the likes of Roger Daltrey, Kelly Jones, Paul Weller, Robert Plant, Pete Townshend and Eddie Vedder to commemorate 24 successful years of performing live music for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

The celebrations come with a hint of sadness, however, as this year’s event will see Roger Daltrey stepping down from his role as curator for the Teenage Cancer Trust annual concerts. Since starting in 2000, performing at the first live Teenage Cancer Trust gig with his band, The Who frontman Daltrey has been at the centre of every annual celebration. He has unceasingly inspired countless musicians to come together and perform for a very special cause year upon year, and he will now allow a series of guest curators to take up the task.

Noel Gallagher, on the positive impact the Teenage Cancer Trust has had, said, ‘The TCT continue to make a real difference to teenagers in what undoubtedly must be the most challenging years of their lives. Having performed at the very first event back in 2000 it is a charity very close to my heart.  24 years and counting is a triumph in itself. NGHFB will be there en masse. Together we will make the night unique. I’d buy a ticket if I were you.”

Tickets go on sale from 9am Friday January 12 and will be available to purchase here.

Donations to the Teenage Cancer Trust can be made here.

This morning, organisers posted to the O2 website to reveal that the event will now go ahead on 27th March because of the new lockdown in place currently in the UK. Despite its supposed end on 2nd November, government advice suggests that it will not be safe to hold a large gathering, even with the strict rules which would be in place.

Squeeze, the first socially distanced live music event due to take place at The O2 on Saturday 5 December, has been rescheduled to Saturday 27 February 2021. Tickets remain valid for the new date. Read more >> https://t.co/3yVYX2is1J pic.twitter.com/AYvecLyKh4

— The O2 (@TheO2) November 19, 2020

Tickets are on sale now, selling in groups of two, three and four to ensure safety. Any tickets already purchased will remain valid for the new date.

O2 General Manager Steve Sayer commented, “Our arena is the beating heart of The O2 and we hugely miss the live experiences that we’re used to sharing with our fans. It’s disappointing to have to delay this show but I would like to say how grateful we are for the support we’ve received from the industry, fans and our partners and we look forward to Squeeze performing in the arena next year.”

Also postponed are Gary Barlow’s two tour dates at the O2, which have now been rescheduled along with the rest of his tour to winter 2021. The future of live music is still very uncertain, but it is hoped that by next year it will be able to go ahead again. Many artists and venues have already managed to hold live gigs throughout the summer, with the successful outdoor set-up of the Virgin Money Unity Arena. For the moment, musicians are continuing to hold live-streams with the help of platforms such as Bandcamp Live and Melody VR, who are collaborating the Brixton’s O2 Academy.

The performance date will be Saturday 5th December, and will be the first in nine months. Opening the show will be Leon Tilbrook – son of Glenn Tilbrook who is the frontman of Squeeze – as well as The Wilhelm Scream. Tickets go on sale this Friday, 9th October at 10am, and will be sold in groups of two, three and four to ensure safety.

Organisers announced the news on Twitter, explaining what they’ll be doing to create a safe gig for attendees, artists, and crew. A one-way system will be in place, and everyone must wear a mask when in the venue, unless they are seated in their assigned area.

We’re excited to announce that after 9 months without events, our first socially distanced gig will be held on 5 December 2020 with London band Squeeze

Find out what we’re doing to keep you safe here https://t.co/sMleqfsUb0

Tickets on sale Friday 10am https://t.co/brBYPVFBPA pic.twitter.com/dhT3Z7wVos

— The O2 (@TheO2) October 5, 2020

Fans had mixed reactions, understandably given the circumstances and the regularly changing Government guidelines. General Manager of The O2, Steve Sayer, expressed his thoughts, saying, “At the moment, we’re only able to host under a quarter of our capacity in the arena, so this is not a long term solution for us or other venues and we continue to press the government for targeted support and guidance to get the live events industry and its supply chain back on its feet.”

Many other venues have held socially distanced live shows, which were successful, but not financially viable in the long-term. Virgin Money were able to set up a new outdoor venue for the summer, which maintained health and safety guidelines. However, smaller grassroots venues are suffering greatly from the loss of business and income.

Sayer continued, “The O2 was designed to give artists and fans the best live music in the world and we look forward to doing that again with Squeeze. As The O2 returns to live, it’s really fitting that a band from the local area are the ones to reopen our doors to the public once again. The whole team are excited to see them on our stage for the first time.”