The Killers performed live at the 2026 UEFA Champions League Final kick off show last night – check out footage below.
- READ MORE: Brandon Flowers talks new solo and Killers music – and the power of Springsteen and Oasis
The band delivered a headline performance at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest on Saturday night (May 30), with their set taking place just minutes before the season’s biggest fixture between Arsenal FC and Paris Saint-Germain.
Before kick-off, David Beckham made a surprise appearance on screen, asking fans if they were ready, before dropping a coin into a jukebox, setting a vinyl of The Killers in motion. With that, the pitch was transformed into a neon-lit spectacle inspired by the band’s Las Vegas roots.
Kicking off their performance with ‘When You Were Young’, Brandon Flowers and co. stormed through a series of classics, with ‘Human’, ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’ and their seminal ‘Mr Brightside’ whipping the 67,000-strong crowd into a frenzy.
Despite a bruising loss for Arsenal, fans later flooded social media to say the opening ceremony was among the best ever, with one Gunners fan on X joking: “Not so much love from the PSG Ultras, who were silenced for the first time this evening.”
Another noted that the Arsenal fans were “much, much, much more enthusiastic about this Killers performance than the PSG supporters”, quipping: “Perhaps Mr Brightside doesn’t play at every wedding in France.”
Last year, Linkin Park performed at the final between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan; the former won 5-0. The band’s set saw them play classic hits like ‘In The End’ and ‘Numb’, as well as ‘The Emptiness Machine’ and ‘Heavy Is The Crown’ from 2024’s ‘From Zero’ – watch the full performance here. Lenny Kravitz performed at the final the previous year.
Meanwhile, Brandon Flowers has shared that The Killers’ next album will be released in 2027 – after his next solo album and tour are complete. The album will serve as the follow-up to 2021’s ‘Pressure Machine’.
“My best guess is that in 2027 you will get the best Killers record,” he said to The Sun. “I have two records complete. One is almost mixed. The other will follow shortly. I’m trying to decide how this is going to work logistically,” he added. “I had a ball making them in Nashville. It’s a departure for sure. Gotta keep you all on your toes.”
It follows his remarks to NME last May, where he told us: “The next thing we’re going to get is a Brandon Flowers record, unfortunately! It’s so good.”
He went on to say that the forthcoming project would be “a step backwards” from his previous solo effort, 2015’s ‘The Desired Effect’.
“It’s more in the ‘Flamingo’ [2010] direction,” he told NME. “I made two South West records, if you want to know the truth. One is a romantic South West record, and the other is a narrative South West record which picks up where [The Killers’ 2021 album] ‘Pressure Machine’ left off.”
Flowers added: “I’m thrilled about both of them, and they’ll both come out before the next Killers record – but I’m thrilled about the next Killers record.”
Elsewhere, you watch Arcade Fire’s Win Butler join The Killers for ‘Rebellion (Lies)’ and ‘When You Were Young’ in Colombia.