Iron Maiden Address Power Outage at Paris Show

Iron Maiden Address Power Outage at Paris Show

June 23, 2026 — Iron Maiden’s return to Paris’ La Défense Arena took an unexpected turn when a major power outage cut their set short during a filmed performance intended for a future release.

The band had previously sold out two nights at the 37,000-capacity indoor stadium in 2025, making this return a key stop for capturing the Run For Your Lives tour on film. About fifty minutes into the set, near the end of “2 Minutes to Midnight,” a total power failure halted the show. With temperatures in Paris hitting 44°C that day and the arena’s air conditioning down during the outage, conditions inside quickly became intense for both the crowd and the band.

Iron Maiden said,

Last night Maiden returned to La Défense Arena in Paris. Having played two sold out nights there last year in the 37,000 capacity indoor stadium, home of Racing 92 rugby club, this return a year later was specifically to film the show for posterity and future release, and an indoor stadium and exuberant French fans were ideal for this. However, about fifty minutes into the set towards the end of ‘2 Minutes to Midnight’, a total power cut brought everything to a stop. As stated by Le Figaro, the French national newspaper, today – “Officials are investigating whether the outage was linked to the extreme heat. However, French electricity distributor Enedis said the problem did not appear to originate from the public power grid and was more likely related to the arena’s own electrical installation. The exact cause remains under investigation”. We will find out in the next few days exactly what happened with the power and why.

The band were able to resume on stage about an hour after the cut occurred continuing the set with ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’. The concert was scheduled to finish by 11pm with a curfew at that time which the local police chief would only extend to 11.35pm after the cut off because, we were told, all local transport in the area stopped by 12.15 and they could not have over 30,000 fans on the streets unable to get home. This gave just enough time for the band to complete the set finishing with ‘Iron Maiden’ but unable to play any of the encores.

Bruce Dickinson said,

Despite everything the audience and atmosphere last night were fantastic and, like every other challenge Iron Maiden have faced over the years, we’ll find a way to deal with and overcome the missing songs in the encore when it comes to the final film. We know that many of you travelled long distances, waited patiently throughout the interruption, and were looking forward to experiencing the complete Run For Your Lives show. We share your disappointment. No one is more frustrated than the band and crew, who were eager to deliver the full performance you deserved. What we will remember most from last night is the incredible spirit inside the arena. Your patience, understanding and unwavering support through an extremely challenging situation meant the world to us. The energy in the room was remarkable and is exactly what we have to come to expect from Paris, and a reminder of why we always love playing here. Thank you, Paris.

Rod Smallwood said,

The fans were magnificent and a huge thanks to them from the band for their patience and support. it just illustrates again what great fans we have. The temperature in Paris was as high as 44°C that day and the hall AC went off with the cut so of course, with so many people in there, it soon got hot while they were waiting for us to be able to resume playing. Naturally when we continued with the lights and pyro and excitement it got seriously hot for fans and band. Despite that the energy of the reaction was incredible!