Barack Obama to embark on UK arena tour
Barack Obama has confirmed details of an arena tour across the United Kingdom later this year.
The former president, who was in the White House between 2008 and 2016, is set to visit Belfast, Glasgow and Manchester in October.
The show is billed as “an inspiring, unmissable live event”, which will see Obama “discuss what comes next – for America, and for all of us.”
In a statement, Obama said ahead of the upcoming shows, “True democracy is a project that’s much bigger than any one of us. It’s bigger than any one person, any one president, and any one government. It’s a job for all of us.”
The tour will begin at The O2 in Belfast on October 13th, before moving on to the OVO Hydro in Glasgow on October 14th, and concluding at the Co-op Live in Manchester on October 15th.
Pre-sale for the three shows will take place at 10am on July 28th, before the general sale is set to go ahead at 10am on July 31st.
While politicians doing in-conversation events are nothing new, Obama setting his sights on arenas in the UK feels grander than any live events that we’ve seen before in this field.
However, back in 2019, Michelle Obama did sell-out The O2 in London for a special book launch event that saw her in conversation with comedian Stephen Colbert.
Barack later followed in Michelle’s footsteps with a show of his own at The O2 in London in 2025, as well as a date in Dublin, Ireland.
At a time when more and more musical acts are being forced to cancel events due to low ticket sales amid the cost-of-living crisis, politics moving into arenas is even more unexpected. Notably, in October 2024, Rory Stewart and Alistair Campbell performed at The O2 in London for a live edition of their podcast, The Rest is Politics, too.
Barack Obama UK tour dates:
October
- 13 – The O2, Belfast
- 14 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
- 15 – Co-op Live, Manchester
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