Massive Attack to play first UK gig in five years on Bristol Downs

Massive Attack were the first band in the world to become members of the UN Race to Zero programme. Credit: PA

Massive Attack are playing a homecoming show in Bristol next summer which the band say will have the lowest carbon footprint of any gig of its size.

The gig, called Act 1.5, will take place on 25 August 2024 on the Clifton Downs and will mark the band's first performance on UK soil in five years.

The band say the entire event site will be powered by renewable energy.

They added all vehicles used for the concert will either be electric or fuelled by certified waste product HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) fuel.

People living in Bristol and the surrounding area will also get priority ticket access.

Organisers said Robert '3D' Del Naja and Grant 'Daddy G' Marshall have worked with several organisations, including Gloucestershire-based Ecotricty, to create the event.

Credit: Warren Du Preez

In a statement, 3D said: "We're chuffed to play out home city again and to be able to do it in the right way.

He added: "In terms of climate change action there are no excuses left. Offsetting, endless seminars and diluted declarations have all been found out - so live music must drastically reduce all primary emissions and take account of fan travel.

"Working with pioneering partners on this project means we can seriously move the dial for major live music events and help create precedents."

Organisers said people are being encouraged to use public transport to travel to the event.

They added anyone living within Bristol, Bath and the surrounding areas will be able to access the local pre-sale which goes live to sign-ups at 10am on Wednesday 6 December.

Massive Attack said they are planning to create a new woodland in the South West as a legacy of the show.

The event will mark the first physical result of the band's collaboration with climate scientists from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.

Professor Carly McLachlan, from the research centre, said: “This is precisely the type of transformative approach that we need to see more of in the live music sector and indeed every sector."