Bold headline: Harry Styles takes the helm of Meltdown at Southbank Centre, with an intimate headline show and a celebration of 75 years of the venue.
Harry Styles will curate Meltdown festival at London’s Southbank Centre, marking the venue’s 75th anniversary. The 32-year-old pop icon follows in the footsteps of prior curators such as Little Simz (2025), with past editions led by legends like Grace Jones, Nile Rodgers, and Robert Smith of The Cure.
In his official remarks, Styles expressed that he feels deeply honored to shape Meltdown in this milestone year for the venue. His aim as curator is to showcase the music and art he loves while honoring Southbank Centre’s storied history. He emphasized a shared belief that music is essential to everyday life and highlighted the centre’s role in making great music accessible for seven and a half decades. He also noted his gratitude for the opportunity to work within such an iconic space.
At this stage, the lineup for the 31st Meltdown edition, running 11–21 June, has not been announced beyond Styles’s own rare intimate performance. The festival’s main event will be preceded by Styles’s forthcoming Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally tour, which will span 12 Wembley shows—each with around 90,000 seats. By contrast, the Southbank Centre’s main auditorium accommodates about 2,700 attendees.
A press release describes Styles’s curatorship as drawing on a wide array of influences, including pop, soul, electronic, rock, underground scenes, and up-and-coming British talent. Styles has recently released Aperture, a comeback single that leans into the softer side of dance music; he said the track was inspired by the moment he first saw LCD Soundsystem perform live.
The festival will also feature a public program of interactive, participatory, and free events designed to engage young people across the UK and reflect how younger audiences increasingly experience culture.
Southbank Centre artistic director Mark Ball said he was thrilled that Styles’s Meltdown sits within a 75th anniversary year that prioritizes youth, curiosity, and creative freedom. He described Styles’s plans as a natural extension of what the venue exists to do and expressed excitement about making Meltdown his creative playground during this milestone year.
Stylistically, Styles’s trajectory after One Direction has leaned toward broad critical and commercial acclaim, with solo work that showcases a wide range of inspirations. Unlike many past Meltdown curators drawn from alternative or underground scenes, Styles represents a high-profile, pop-forward flavor for the festival.
Meanwhile, Styles’s solo touring will begin in Amsterdam on 16 May, following a one-off performance in Manchester where he is an investor. Full Meltdown lineup and ticket details will be announced in the spring.
