More than 30,000 fans braved a red weather warning and soaring temperatures to see The Cure deliver a career-spanning headline set in Cardiff.
The show took place on Wednesday, June 24, as part of the Blackweir 2026 concert series, marking the band’s biggest ever headline performance in Wales.
The Cure live in Cardiff. Picture: Lizi Birt
Robert Smith personally selected the support acts, with north Wales’ The Joy Formidable and Scotland’s The Twilight Sad opening the evening. It was great to finally catch The Joy Formidable live after having them on rotation for a while—they kicked things off just 15 minutes after gates opened, playing to a steadily building crowd in the blistering heat. Tracks like Cradle, Whirring and Wolf’s Law went down well.
The Twilight Sad followed and took a moment to shout out Manic Street Preachers, saying the band wouldn’t exist without them, having bonded over their shared love of the Manics. Their set included VTr, Last January and There’s a Girl in the Corner. Both bands were solid choices to warm up the crowd.
The Cure live in Cardiff. Picture: Lizi Birt
When The Cure took to the stage, they delivered a two-and-a-half-hour set covering more than four decades of music. Smith opened with a simple “Diolch” before launching into a run of classics including Pictures of You, Inbetween Days, Just Like Heaven, Lovesong, A Forest and Disintegration. They also played Burn, taken from the soundtrack to The Crow.
The Cure live in Cardiff. Picture: Lizi Birt
Smith kept dropping in “diolch” throughout the night, joking about his pronunciation and saying that, of all the languages he should have learned, Welsh probably should have been top of the list—something that got a great reaction from the crowd.
The Cure live in Cardiff. Picture: Lizi Birt
The band returned for a 10-song encore featuring Hot Hot Hot!!!, The Walk, The Lovecats, Friday I’m in Love, Close to Me, Why Can’t I Be You and Boys Don’t Cry.
From start to finish, The Cure sounded as tight and polished as ever. Even in the heat, the crowd stayed fully locked in—singing, dancing and making the most of a huge night.
