The Rolling Stones have reportedly called off plans for a major 2026 stadium tour that was anticipated to take the band across the United Kingdom and Europe next year, sources close to the group confirm. While the tour was never formally announced with specific dates, promoters and venues had been in discussions to host the legendary rock act for a summer run, but those plans have now been abandoned amid concerns about the physical demands such a trek would place on guitarist Keith Richards and the other aging members of the band.
According to Variety, the decision emerged from internal discussions in which Richards, who will turn 82 in December, indicated he could not commit to the rigors of a multi-month, multi-country stadium tour. Although Richards has continued to perform and even appeared in strong form during a brief three-song set at the Soho Sessions in New York last month, the stamina required for an extended tour — with weeks of travel and back-to-back shows — proved a significant concern.
“When they properly sat down to discuss the tour, Keith said he didn’t think he could commit and wasn’t keen on a big stadium tour for over four months,” an unnamed music critic told a British tabloid. A spokesperson for the band added that although the Stones had explored touring earlier in 2025 without success, the same limitations made a 2026 tour unworkable. “It’s hard for their fans, but The Stones will get back onstage when they’re good and ready,” the spokesperson said.
The band’s core trio has aged into their eighties: lead singer Mick Jagger, 82, and guitarist Ronnie Wood, 78, join Richards at the forefront of the group, while original drummer Charlie Watts passed away in 2021 and was replaced by longtime collaborator Steve Jordan. Over the past two decades, The Rolling Stones have toured with increasing frequency but shorter, more manageable legs, mindful of their advancing years and the physical strain of extensive touring.
The most recent Stones tour was the Hackney Diamonds Tour in 2024, which took the band through 20 stadium dates across North America in support of their Grammy-winning 2023 album Hackney Diamonds — the group’s first original-material release in nearly two decades. That run reportedly sold nearly one million tickets and reaffirmed the band’s enduring commercial appeal.
Despite the canceled tour plans, creative work remains underway. The Stones are reportedly close to completing a new studio album, their second collaboration with producer Andrew Watt, who also worked on Hackney Diamonds. Watt’s influence and energy have been credited with reinvigorating the band’s recent output, with Jagger previously describing their collaboration as both fun and creatively fulfilling.
While the lack of a 2026 tour may disappoint fans eager to see the band live, the Stones’ spokesperson and insiders suggest that future performances remain possible once the members feel ready. For now, audiences will have to wait to see if and when the legendary rock group — whose career has spanned more than six decades — returns to the road again in full.
