Every year, Download Festival promises at least one booking that makes the heavy music world sit bolt upright, but this one might take the cake. Yes, the rumours are true, German jumpstyle icons Scooter are officially joining the 2026 lineup at Donington Park.
After Download booker Kam Haq teased a “curveball” artist during the festival’s launch party earlier this month, fans immediately went into detective mode.
Reddit threads lit up, Facebook groups spun wild theories, and everyone seemed to expect something unexpected, but probably not this unexpected.
Still, you’ve got to admit it’s a stroke of brilliance, if any festival can pull off the most bizarre collision of worlds imaginable, it’s Download.
Announced via an Instagram post, Scooter are set to be “taking over The Avalanche stage,” which almost certainly means a headline slot.
Honestly, who wouldn’t want to witness the absolute spectacle of thousands of metalheads bouncing to ‘Jumping All Over The World’ before hitting the pit for Limp Bizkit?
It’s the kind of booking that shouldn’t work, but probably will, the exact kind of controlled mayhem that’s kept Download alive for decades.
A seriously stacked lineup
Scooter now join a massive list of already announced heavyweights including, Guns N’ Roses, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Bad Omens, Electric Callboy, Architects and more and is shaping up to be one of the festival’s most eclectic and electric years yet.
Whether you’re there for the riffs, the nostalgia, the breakdowns or the neon drenched Eurodance fun, Download 2026 looks ready to deliver all of it at full blast.
Download details
Download Festival returns to Donington Park from June 12 – 14, 2026, with tickets and weekend passes available now through the official Download website, giving fans first crack at one of the festival’s most unpredictable and stacked lineups in years.
RELATED
MORE IN Music
