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Explore CategoryPicture it: a December evening in Kensington, Christmas at the Royal Albert Hall, and Leona Lewis singing One More Sleep under the Hall's dome. That is the promise of Heart Christmas Live, a new Christmas concert that puts Take That, Leona Lewis, Olly Murs and James Arthur on one bill on Monday 14 December 2026, eleven days before Christmas Day, with Amanda Holden and Jamie Theakston from Heart Breakfast as hosts.
It's the first one, so there is no past line-up to compare it with and no old setlist to pick through. What there is: a bill announced over two days in September, Heart's word that more performers and special guests are coming, and one song confirmed. That song is Leona Lewis's One More Sleep, which Heart calls the biggest new Christmas record of the 21st century.
A Christmas concert at the Royal Albert Hall
The Hall calls itself the home of Christmas in London, and its Christmas at the Royal Albert Hall season makes the case: Carols at the Royal Albert Hall, Christmas with the Royal Choral Society, Anna Lapwood's Christmas, Rick Astley's Swinging Christmas and, new for 2026, this. The Hall's own season announcement describes Heart Christmas Live as making its debut.
Heart and the Hall present it together, and NatWest is part of the full title, Heart Christmas Live with NatWest. The concert is in the Hall's auditorium on Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AP, and there is more on the building on our Royal Albert Hall page.
The Heart Christmas Live 2026 line-up
Four acts are confirmed. Take That were announced first, on 22 September 2026, and Leona Lewis, Olly Murs and James Arthur had joined them by the following day. Heart has said more performers and special guests will be announced. No other names had been confirmed by 6 October 2026.
Take That
Take That were the name Heart led with. Heart picks out Rule The World, Patience and Greatest Day among their hits, and the concert comes 24 days after the release of their tenth studio album, Dreamers, which is due on 20 November 2026.
They have shared a Royal Albert Hall bill with Leona Lewis before. Both played Children in Need Rocks the Royal Albert Hall on 12 November 2009, a concert organised by Take That's Gary Barlow.
Leona Lewis
Leona Lewis is the only act with a song confirmed for the night. Heart says she'll sing One More Sleep. It came out in 2013, reached Number 3 on the Official Singles Chart and has been back in the Top 40 every festive season since 2018. In November 2024 Official Charts reported that PPL airplay figures made it the UK's most-played modern Christmas song, the equivalent of 14 weeks of non-stop play on UK radio and TV since its release.
Christmas runs right through her career. A Moment Like This, her X Factor winner's single, was the UK Christmas number one in 2006. Her Christmas album, Christmas, with Love, came out on 2 December 2013, and the 2021 reissue, Christmas, with Love Always, added Kiss Me It's Christmas with Ne-Yo.
For a live Christmas performance, there is her Ave Maria from 2020.
The Hall is familiar ground. At that 2009 Children in Need concert she sang Happy and a cover of Run, and she came back to play two nights of her Glassheart Tour there in May 2013.
Follow Leona Lewis
Her verified Instagram account shared the Heart Christmas Live news on 23 September 2026, in a joint post with Heart.
Olly Murs
Heart describes Olly Murs as one of its own and says he'll sing some of his greatest songs. His Christmas song with The Ordinary Boys, Christmas Starts Tonight, had its video posted on his own channel on 15 December 2025.
James Arthur
Heart names Impossible and Say You Won't Let Go among James Arthur's hits. A new video from him, for Waste My Tears, went up on 18 September 2026.
Date, times and the age rule
The date is Monday 14 December 2026. The Hall lists doors at 6.45pm and a 7.30pm start. It has not published a finish time or a running order, so nobody yet knows who is on when.
Children can come, but the Hall's age rule applies: anyone 14 or under needs an adult aged 18 or over with them. The Hall also warns that filming and photography may take place during the show, worth knowing if you would rather stay off camera.
Other December ideas sit under seasonal and festive events, and our live music pages carry more concerts.
What a first edition means
A first edition comes with no reviews, no old setlists and no word of mouth about how the night runs. Everything known about the line-up comes from two days of announcements in September, and Heart says the list isn't finished.
For a Christmas night out, that is part of the pull. Whoever is in the Hall on 14 December sees the first Heart Christmas Live before anyone can tell them what it is like, and one moment has already been promised: One More Sleep, sung by Leona Lewis, at the Royal Albert Hall, eleven days before Christmas.
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Frequently Asked Questions
One More Sleep, released in 2013. It reached Number 3 on the Official Singles Chart, and in November 2024 Official Charts reported that PPL airplay figures made it the UK's most-played modern Christmas song.
Yes, in 2006, with A Moment Like This, the single she released as the X Factor winner. That was seven years before One More Sleep came out.
Christmas, with Love, released on 2 December 2013. It was reissued on 19 November 2021 as Christmas, with Love Always, which added Kiss Me It's Christmas featuring Ne-Yo.
Heart Christmas Live on Monday 14 December is new to the Hall's Christmas at the Royal Albert Hall season, which also includes Carols at the Royal Albert Hall, Christmas with the Royal Choral Society, Anna Lapwood's Christmas and Rick Astley's Swinging Christmas.
Heart names three of their hits: Rule The World, Patience and Greatest Day. Their tenth studio album, Dreamers, is due on 20 November 2026, 24 days before Heart Christmas Live.
Impossible and Say You Won't Let Go are the two hits Heart names for him. His video for Waste My Tears went up on 18 September 2026.
Written by Steve Hill
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