IRON MAIDEN have announced new filming plans for "Eddfest," their 50th-anniversary celebration at Knebworth, after a city-wide power outage cut short the band's June 22 concert at La Défense Arena in Paris.
The Paris show, played before more than 30,000 fans, was interrupted roughly 50 minutes in, during "Two Minutes To Midnight," when the venue lost power entirely. IRON MAIDEN resumed after about an hour, but local police restricted the remainder of the set due to Paris's public transport schedule, forcing an early finish. Footage from the night was being captured for the band's upcoming concert film documenting the "Run For Your Lives" tour.
Rather than scrap the footage, IRON MAIDEN will splice it together with new material filmed at Knebworth on July 11, creating a single cinematic release drawn from both nights. "You all know what happened in Paris, so we're gonna finish it off at Knebworth, and we'll see you there," said bassist and founding member Steve Harris. Frontman Bruce Dickinson added: "We're not going to lose what we did in Paris but we're gonna add to it with some amazing stuff from Knebworth."
Manager Rod Smallwood confirmed the band has been digging through the archives for the occasion: "We've raided Eddie's archive, Steve's garden and our very own offices to bring you some actual pieces of our history!"
Eddfest kicks off Friday afternoon with two nights of camping available on-site. The festival village, dubbed "Maidenville," will host performances from Blaze Bayley and Gypsy's Kiss, alongside an "Infinite Dreams" museum exhibit featuring more than 50 items pulled from IRON MAIDEN's five-decade history. Saturday's bill includes supporting acts ahead of IRON MAIDEN's headline set, which will complete the concert film.
The Knebworth show caps off a milestone year for the NWOBHM titans, who continue to draw massive crowds across Europe on the "Run For Your Lives" run despite the Paris hiccup. Fans attending Eddfest can expect a full-throttle celebration of the band's history alongside the current tour's setlist, all captured for the eventual film release.