James Blunt Milan

James Blunt live in Milan: the Airplane Mode tour

James Blunt comes back to Italy in the winter of 2027, and the first of his two Italian dates falls on Saturday 27 February 2027 at the Unipol Forum in Assago, on the southern edge of Milan. The concert belongs to the European run supporting Airplane Mode, the album that gives the tour its name.

Airplane Mode is released on 6 November 2026 on Atlantic Records. Blunt recorded most of it with his long-time touring band at Pig Music Studios in Banbury, in the English countryside, and summed up the sessions in a single line: "At one point I was lost, but found myself in a recording studio at Banbury." The record was introduced by the single "Tastes Like Summer" and followed by "Weight Of It All"; "Circles", "Modern Love" and "Oh Daisy" are among the other songs on it.

The Milan show arrives more than twenty years into a career that started with Back to Bedlam in 2004, the debut that carried "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover" and topped the United Kingdom's album sales in 2005. "1973" opened All the Lost Souls in 2007, and "Bonfire Heart" led Moon Landing in 2013. In an Italian arena those tend to be the moments the room takes over from the stage.

The venue: Unipol Forum, Assago

The Unipol Forum opened on 26 October 1990 in Assago, a town a few kilometres south-west of central Milan, and it has been a regular stop on international arena tours in northern Italy ever since. It has held several names since: Forum di Assago, FilaForum, DatchForum and Mediolanum Forum, before Unipol took the naming rights in May 2024. The building is arranged over three levels around a central arena floor, and it is also the home court of the AX Armani Exchange basketball club.

Metro line M2 runs to the Assago Milanofiori Forum terminus, where covered walkways lead from the station to the arena; the branch towards Abbiategrasso heads elsewhere. Drivers leave the A7 Milan-Genoa motorway at the Assago-Milanofiori exit.

What the live show looks like

Blunt's arena concerts are built around his touring band rather than a heavy production: piano and guitar at the centre, a rhythm section that opens the mid-tempo songs out, and long stretches where the audience sings back. Between songs he is known for a dry, self-deprecating humour, the same tone that runs through his writing.

An evening on this tour moves between the new material from Airplane Mode and the older catalogue. Setlists are not published in advance and change from night to night, so the Milan running order will only be known on the evening itself.

Frequently asked questions

When and where is the concert? Saturday 27 February 2027 at the Unipol Forum in Assago, Milan. It is the first of two Italian dates on the Airplane Mode tour; the second is in Florence the next night.

When did tickets first go on sale? The presale for newsletter subscribers opened on Tuesday 8 September 2026 at 10:00, and the general on-sale on TicketOne followed on Wednesday 9 September 2026 at 10:00.

How do I reach the arena? Metro line M2 towards Assago Milanofiori Forum stops next to the building, with a covered walkway to the entrances. By car, the A7 motorway exit is Assago-Milanofiori.