Last updated: 2 October 2026
Fally Ipupa, the Congolese singer known as the Prince of Rumba, is playing two nights at The O2 in London on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October 2026. The Sunday date was announced first and went on sale in May 2026; the Saturday show was added and released in July. It is the biggest London booking of his career.
Three years ago he played OVO Arena Wembley on 8 December 2023 in front of about 12,500 people, becoming the first Congolese artist to headline that venue since Abeti Masikini in 1986. Since then he has sold out two nights at the Stade de France in Paris, on 2 and 3 May 2026, to mark twenty years of his solo career, and released XX, a twenty-track album that went to number one in France.
This page covers the confirmed London dates, his history in Britain, the albums and songs behind the shows and the practical details on tickets. No 2027 UK dates have been announced.
Both London concerts are at The O2, with doors listed for 18:30. The Sunday 25 October show went on general sale on 15 May 2026; demand led to the Saturday 24 October date, which went on sale on 10 July. Neither date used a public presale.
The shows follow the release of XX in two parts: the first on 17 April 2026, and the second, XX : Délirium, on 18 September 2026, after being pushed back from June. London therefore gets the full new project only weeks after its completion.
There are no other British dates, and no Manchester or Birmingham show. Fally Ipupa's European touring has centred on Paris, Brussels and London for years, so a single city with two nights is typical. If any further UK dates are announced for 2027, we will add them here.
Opened in 2007 on the Greenwich Peninsula inside the former Millennium Dome, The O2 holds around 20,000 for concerts and is regularly ranked among the world's busiest arenas. The nearest Tube is North Greenwich on the Jubilee line; the IFS Cloud Cable Car and Thames Clippers riverboats are useful alternatives after the show.
Saturday 24 October 2026 — The O2, London (second date, added after the first). 2 nights are booked at The O2; this is number 1. In London, the last documented Fally Ipupa concert was at OVO Arena Wembley (8 December 2023). This is the only UK date announced so far.
Fally Ipupa's British concert history is short but significant. London was part of his Golden World Tour in 2022, which visited cities across Africa, Europe and the Middle East, but his landmark British show came on 8 December 2023 at OVO Arena Wembley, the former Wembley Arena.
That night drew around 12,500 people and made him the first Congolese artist to fill the venue since Abeti Masikini in 1986. It was a statement about the size of the Congolese and wider francophone African audience in Britain, and about how far Congolese rumba has travelled beyond its home.
Most of his earlier London appearances were in smaller venues serving the Congolese community and are not well documented online, which is why the table below is brief. The O2 shows in October 2026 are a step up again: The O2 holds around twenty thousand people per night, and he has booked it twice.
The table below lists 1 documented UK concerts by Fally Ipupa between 2023 and 2023, with the most shows in London (1). It is not exhaustive: it only includes documented shows.
| Date | City | Venue | Tour / event |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 December 2023 | London | OVO Arena Wembley |
Concert data: setlist.fm
Fally Ipupa has not built his British following through festivals; his UK appearances have been his own headline concerts. No UK festival bookings have been announced for 2027.
Fally Ipupa Nsimba was born on 14 December 1977 in Kinshasa, in what was then Zaire, and grew up in the Bandalungwa district, surrounded by nightclubs and close to the headquarters of the band Wenge Musica. He sang in church with his mother and played congas and guitar as a teenager, against his parents' hopes that he would study medicine.
He made his public debut in 1997 with the band Talent Latent, and in 1999 joined Koffi Olomide's Quartier Latin International, one of the most important groups in Congolese music. His solo debut, Droit Chemin, followed in 2006 and sold over 100,000 copies within a month.
Arsenal de Belles Mélodies (2009) brought 'Chaise Électrique' and 'Sexy Dance' and sold over half a million copies in France. Power "Kosa Leka", Tokooos, Control, Tokooos II and Formule 7 followed, making him one of the first Kinshasa-based solo artists to earn French gold and platinum certifications.
In June 2026 he was appointed a Knight of the National Order of the Leopard by President Félix Tshisekedi. He also runs the Fally Ipupa Foundation, which supports vulnerable groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
| Album | Year | UK chart peak |
|---|---|---|
| Droit Chemin | 2006 | — |
| Arsenal de Belles Mélodies | 2009 | — |
| Power "Kosa Leka" | 2013 | — |
| Tokooos | 2017 | — |
| Control | 2018 | — |
| Tokooos II | 2020 | — |
| Formule 7 | 2022 | — |
| XX | 2026 | — |
Fally Ipupa announced on 16 March 2026 that his eighth studio project, which he had been recording since October 2022, would be released in two parts. The first, XX, came out on 17 April 2026 with twenty tracks and guests including Calema, DJ Maphorisa, Joé Dwèt Filé, Angélique Kidjo, Lokua Kanza, Keblack, Guy2Bezbar, SDM and Wizkid.
XX topped the French albums chart, making him the first African artist to do so. The second part, XX : Délirium, was due in June but arrived on 18 September 2026, a few weeks before the London concerts.
The title refers to the twenty years since his first solo album, a milestone also marked by the two Stade de France concerts in May 2026.
Fally Ipupa's music grows out of Congolese rumba, the guitar-led style that UNESCO added to its list of intangible cultural heritage in 2021, and out of the faster dance styles soukous and ndombolo. He combines those roots with R&B, Afropop and French urban music.
In concert that mix shows: long, layered rumba songs with interlocking guitars sit next to radio hits and duets. The animation sections, where dancers and the band lift the tempo, are a central part of the show.
His tenor voice and romantic lyrics earned him the nickname 'Prince of Rumba', a nod to the generation of Congolese stars, from Franco to Koffi Olomide, who came before him.
Britain has a large Congolese community, concentrated in London, and a wider francophone and African audience that has grown with streaming. Wembley in 2023 showed what that audience could do for a single night.
Two nights at The O2 build on that. For comparison, very few artists singing mainly in Lingala and French have headlined the venue, and the booking reflects both his popularity and the growing presence of African music in British arenas.
Fally Ipupa first announced a Stade de France concert in February 2024, planning it for 2025. In October 2025 it was moved to 2 May 2026 to coincide with the twentieth anniversary of his solo career. It sold out in November 2025, and a second night on 3 May 2026 also sold out.
The London O2 dates are the next step in that anniversary year.
Like many Congolese stars, Fally Ipupa learned his craft inside a big band. In 1999 he joined Quartier Latin International, led by Koffi Olomide, one of the most successful Congolese musicians of all time, and spent several years as one of its featured singers.
Quartier Latin was a training ground for performers, songwriters and dancers, and Ipupa's ability to hold a stage for hours, a hallmark of Congolese live music, comes from those years. He left to go solo in 2006.
The O2 in Greenwich, south-east London, opened in 2007 and holds around 20,000 people for concerts. It is one of the busiest arenas in the world, and headlining it twice on consecutive nights is a level few artists from outside the English-speaking mainstream reach.
The arena is next to North Greenwich station on the Jubilee line. Doors on both nights are listed at 18:30; stage times and support acts are confirmed by the venue nearer the date.
In 2013 Ipupa signed with the French label AZ and later followed the executive Julien Creuzard to Elektra France. That move took his music into the French mainstream: Tokooos (2017) was certified gold by SNEP, making him one of the first Kinshasa-based Congolese solo artists to reach that level, and later platinum.
Control (2018) and Tokooos II (2020) confirmed his position. In July 2025 he topped Billboard France's ranking of the most-streamed Congolese artists, and he is the most-streamed French-speaking artist on the African platform Boomplay.
Away from music, Ipupa runs the Fally Ipupa Foundation, which provides aid to marginalised groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including victims of sexual violence and disease, and orphans.
In April 2024 he took part in a charity football match presided over by Brigitte Macron to raise money for children in hospital. His public role in the Congo was formally recognised in June 2026, when he was decorated by President Tshisekedi.
Ipupa's second album, Arsenal de Belles Mélodies, was released on 25 June 2009 and sold more than half a million copies in France. Its hits, 'Chaise Électrique' with Olivia and 'Sexy Dance' with Krys, became signature songs and won him two MTV Africa Music Awards in 2010, for Best Francophone Artist and Best Video.
By May 2009 he was already the fifth most searched public figure on Yahoo France, a measure of how quickly he had crossed over.
Formule 7, released in December 2022, became the first Congolese rumba album to receive a gold export certification from SNEP, in 2024, and later reached platinum in 2025. In Africa it was certified triple diamond by Africa Music & Charts.
The album's tour took him to Wembley in December 2023, then to the LDLC Arena in Lyon and the Arkéa Arena near Bordeaux in July 2024.
Ipupa's honours go back to 2007, when he won the Césaire de la Musique for Best Male Performer. He was named Best Central African Artist at the Kundé awards in 2008 and won the Trace Urban Music Award for Best African Artist in 2013.
Forbes ranked him among the richest African musicians in 2014, and Jeune Afrique included him among the fifty most influential African artists in 2018.
The two London concerts were not announced together. Sunday 25 October went on sale first, on 15 May 2026; the Saturday show, 24 October, was added later and released on 10 July. A second date added in this way usually signals strong demand for the first.
For buyers, it means the two nights may have different availability and seating plans. Check the date carefully when buying, since the Saturday show is the first of the two even though it was announced second.
Fally Ipupa's shows are long, high-energy productions with a large band, several guitarists, backing singers and dancers. Expect a mix of recent material from XX and Formule 7 with classics such as 'Chaise Électrique', 'Sexy Dance', 'Eloko Oyo' and 'Un Coup', his collaboration with Dadju.
Guest appearances are common at his big European shows, but none have been announced for London. Running orders are not published in advance; the documented setlists from his British concerts are too sparse to give a reliable list of the songs he plays most.
The Sunday 25 October show went on general sale on 15 May 2026 and the Saturday 24 October date on 10 July 2026, both without a presale. Prices are set by the promoter and vary by section; they are shown at checkout, including fees.
For a two-night run, the second date to be announced is often the easier one to buy for. Use only official sellers and the official resale route if a date sells out. Sign up below for alerts about released tickets or new UK dates.
When is Fally Ipupa playing London?
At The O2 on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October 2026.
Is there a Fally Ipupa UK tour in 2027?
No 2027 UK dates have been announced.
Has he played London before?
Yes. His biggest previous London show was at OVO Arena Wembley on 8 December 2023, in front of around 12,500 people.
What is his latest album?
XX, released in two parts: XX on 17 April 2026 and XX : Délirium on 18 September 2026.
Why is he called the Prince of Rumba?
Because of his roots in Congolese rumba and his romantic tenor style.
Is there a presale code?
No. Both London dates went on general sale without a presale.
Are there other UK cities?
No. London is the only UK city on the schedule.
Where is Fally Ipupa from?
Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
What band did he start in?
Talent Latent, before joining Koffi Olomide's Quartier Latin International in 1999.
What time do doors open at The O2?
Doors are listed for 18:30 on both nights.
Did he play the Stade de France?
Yes, two sold-out nights on 2 and 3 May 2026.
Which London date was announced first?
Sunday 25 October 2026; Saturday 24 October was added later.
How do I avoid fake tickets?
Buy only through The O2's official sellers or the official resale route. Check the date on the ticket carefully, as there are two consecutive nights.
Will there be guests?
None have been announced for London, although Fally Ipupa often invites guests at his big European shows.
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