Download Festival 2026 is officially underway at Donington Park, Leicestershire — running from today, Friday 12 June, through to Sunday 14 June. With Limp Bizkit, Guns N' Roses, and Linkin Park headlining across three massive nights, this is one of the strongest Download lineups in years. Here's your complete stage-by-stage guide to who's playing, and where to grab officially licensed merch for the acts on stage this weekend.
Download Festival 2026: Key Details
- Dates: 12–14 June 2026 (10–14 June including pre-festival camping)
- Venue: Donington Park, Castle Donington, Leicestershire
- Stages: Apex Stage, Opus Stage, Avalanche Stage (hosted by Kerrang! Radio), Dogtooth Stage
Friday 12 June — Limp Bizkit Headline
Apex Stage
Limp Bizkit headline the Apex Stage on Friday night — Fred Durst and co. returning to Download in typically chaotic fashion. Support comes from Cypress Hill, Electric Callboy, Pendulum, Hollywood Undead, P.O.D., and Scene Queen.
Opus Stage
Halestorm top the Opus Stage on Friday, with Daughtry, Periphery, Creeper, Paleface Swiss, and Silent Planet also on the bill.
Avalanche Stage
Feeder headline the Kerrang! Radio-hosted Avalanche Stage, joined by Story of the Year, Sleep Theory, Rain City Drive, Darin, Lakeview, Holywata, Silly Goose, and Native James.
Saturday 13 June — Guns N' Roses Headline
Apex Stage
The biggest night of the weekend — Guns N' Roses headline the Apex Stage on Saturday. Axl, Slash, and Duff are one of the greatest live rock acts on the planet, and a Download headline slot is exactly where they belong. Support includes Trivium, Baby Metal, Black Veil Brides, Landmvrks, South Arcade, and Thornhill.
Opus Stage
Architects headline the Opus Stage on Saturday, with Behemoth, Bush, Set It Off, Those Damn Crows, We Came As Romans, Drowning Pool, and Snot also playing.
Avalanche Stage
The All American Rejects top the Avalanche Stage on Saturday, joined by Hot Milk, Marmozets, As It Is, Melrose Avenue, Mouth Culture, Die Spitz, Nevertel, and Frozemode.
Sunday 14 June — Linkin Park Headline
Apex Stage
Linkin Park close out Download Festival 2026 as Sunday night headliners — one of the most emotionally charged headline slots in recent festival history. Support comes from Bad Omens, Ice Nine Kills, The Pretty Reckless, Bloodywood, Røry, Kublai Khan TX, and Unpeople.
Opus Stage
A Day to Remember headline the Opus Stage on Sunday, with Mastodon, Tom Morello, Social Distortion, The Plot in You, Thrown, Dogstar, Mammoth, Catch Your Breath, and Ego Kill Talent completing the bill.
Avalanche Stage
Scooter headline the Avalanche Stage on Sunday. Letlive., Ash, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Magnolia Park TX, Sweet Pill, The Pretty Wild, IVAI, and Zero 9:36 also play.
Dogtooth Stage Highlights
The Dogtooth Stage runs across all three days with some of the heaviest acts of the weekend. Highlights include Cavalera and Chaos AD (Friday), Blood Incantation (Saturday), and Static-X (Sunday), alongside Corrosion of Conformity, Band-Maid, Decapitated, Gatecreeper, Boundaries, Ankora, and many more.
Shop Official Merch for Download 2026 Acts
Every item in the Wonderhaul catalogue is officially licensed — no bootlegs, no grey-market imports. We stock merch for several acts on this weekend's bill:
Browse all our officially licensed collections: Guns N' Roses — Trivium — Metallica — Iron Maiden — Korn — Black Sabbath
Download Festival: A Brief History
Download has been held at Donington Park since 2003, inheriting the legendary Monsters of Rock festival's spiritual home. Over more than two decades it has hosted virtually every major name in rock and metal — Metallica, Iron Maiden, Guns N' Roses, Slipknot, Linkin Park, and hundreds more. It remains the UK's premier rock festival and one of the most important dates in the global heavy music calendar.
For more officially licensed rock merch, read our Ultimate Guide to Rock Merchandise at Wonderhaul. 🤘