Could Oasis play Knebworth in 2026? What we know
No matter which way you look at it, the Oasis reunion tour of 2025 has been an unqualified success. For Noel and Liam Gallagher, the rest of the band, and all their nostalgic fans, the long-awaited tour has largely been a scandal-free zone.
There have been no backstage fights (that we know of), zero onstage bickering, and by all accounts, the band are absolutely rocking. Maybe it's maturity finally creeping in, or just a new businesslike approach to the job, but Oasis actually seem to have got their act together, 16 years after bitter infighting tore them apart. Their comeback has been one of the most popular tours in recent memory, and is said to be worth £1bn to the British economy, with Noel and Liam estimated to be earning £50m each from the run of gigs.
So it's no surprise that rumours of a 2026 tour and a return to the scene of their crowning glory - Knebworth - have begun to circulate online.
2026 Oasis tour rumours
In August 2025, The Sun reported that Oasis had been offered the chance to extend their current 41-date 2025 tour with a fresh run of dates in 2026. The rumoured run of new gigs includes four nights at Knebworth House, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of their historic 1996 concerts, a residency at Manchester City's Etihad Stadium, and a string of European and British dates..
The Sun's insider offered a 'definitely maybe' response to the rumours, claiming they 'could see all of this happening' but it depends on whether Noel and Liam want to carry on with touring, or whether they just want to 'Slide Away' and enjoy their windfall in peace.
An unverified image of the proposed 2026 tour circulated on social media showed a series of European gigs, starting with two in Milan, then a string of dates starting on June 2026 across Spain, Germany, Hungary, Sweden, the Netherlands, and France. The 'leak' suggests the tour then returns to the UK for dates in Newcastle, Glasgow, the Etihad residency, followed by four dates at Knebworth on 11, 12, 14, and 15 August.
The Sun also reports that the band have been offered festival dates for next year, but that those offers have 'so far been stonewalled'.
The offer to play Knebworth in 2026 has some truth behind it. In 2024, Knebworth House publicly invited the band to return to the scene of their greatest triumph to mark the 30th anniversary. Henry Lytton-Cobbold, who owns Knebworth House, joked: "Wembley is a reasonable warm-up venue for Knebworth. Then get ready for a nice, huge 30th shindig in 2026.
"That's what the people want, and they seem pretty good at doing what the people want. It would be a great way to have the best party of all parties."
Liam Gallagher returned to Knebworth in 2022 for two massive gigs as a solo artist. Mr Lytton-Cobbold added: "He knows where we are, he's always been keen, he's up for it. They just have to stay mates for 12 months."
The band never responded to the public invite.
What have Oasis said about the rumours?
Noel and Liam Gallagher have yet to respond to the rumours. But Yahoo contacted representatives for Oasis, and they offered a 'no comment'.
Not long after announcing their comeback, the band denied rumours that they would be playing Glastonbury in 2025 as part of the tour. "Despite media speculation, Oasis will not be playing Glastonbury 2025 or any other festivals next year," they said in a statement. "The only way to see the band perform will be on their Oasis Live '25 World Tour."
Talking about the possibility of a new album, Oasis' co-manager Alec McKinlay told Music Week in May 2025, "This is very much the last time around, as Noel's made clear in the press. It's a chance for fans who haven't seen the band to see them, or at least for some of them to. But no, there's no plan for any new music.'
This suggests that a 2026 tour could be possible, but only if the band want to carry on. They have no plans for more gigs beyond the current 41-date tour, though. Oasis Live '25 will next head to Ireland, then North America and Mexico, before a return to Wembley in September, followed by a string of dates in South Korea, Japan, Australia and South America, wrapping up in Brazil in November.
What's so special about Knebworth?
1996 marks a high-water mark for Oasis that has never been surpassed. The Manchester band were riding a huge wave of popularity sparked by the double-header of their two bestselling albums, Definitely Maybe in 1994 and (What's the Story) Morning Glory in 1995, and the chart battle with Blur that sparked the public's imagination that same year. Blur won the battle, topping the charts with Country House, but Oasis won the war, leading to their historic dates at Knebworth House in 1996.
The country estate had played host to a number of iconic acts over the years, including Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Queen, who played their last ever gig with Freddie Mercury there, and would prove to be a historic venue for the band.
2.5 million people applied for the 250,000 tickets available for the Hertfordshire gigs (more than 2% of the British population), which sold out in 24 hours, making it the largest demand for a show in British music history, and the gigs were a resounding success for the band.
Mat Whitecross's 2016 Oasis documentary Oasis: Supersonic ends with their two back-to-back Knebworth gigs, leaving a full 13 years of drama untold, before the band officially split in 2009.
That's not to say that nothing worthwhile happened to the band after Knebworth, but the two August gigs represented the high tide of Oasismania. It ended up being downhill from there with their underwhelming third album, Be Here Now, being released to much hype but mixed reviews in 1997.
A series of lineup changes followed, as well as four more forgettable albums, before the band split acrimoniously in 2009. The dividing line of Oasis pre- and post-Knebworth is reflected in the setlist of their 2025 reunion tour. Of the 23 songs on their setlist, only three songs were recorded post-Kenbworth: D'You Know What I Mean?, Stand by Me and Little by Little.
While a return to the scene of their crowing glory would be a tantalising prospect for nostalgic fans, in truth, it would only serve as a footnote in the true history of Britpop's most enduring band.
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