Wireless Festival 2022: Chris Brown announced to perform at first UK festival in 12 years

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Chris Brown has been announced as a performer at this summer’s Wireless Festival, marking his first UK festival appearance in over a decade.

The multi-venue music event will take place at London’s Crystal Palace Park and Finsbury Park, as well as outdoor at the NEC in Birmingham across two weekends in July.

The singer was added to the roster for Crystal Palace and Birmingham shows in a surprise announcement by the festival on Wednesday (25 May).

“You asked? We deliver… ALWAYS,” a message from the event’s official Twitter account reads. “For the first time in 12 years… @chrisbrown will return to the UK to shut down Crystal Palace and Birmingham.”

Brown will perform on Friday 1 July at Crystal Palace and on Saturday 9 July in Birmingham.

Until November 2021, the “Go Crazy” singer hadn’t performed in the UK in any capacity for over a decade. He made a special appearance during Wizkid’s show at the O2 Arena.

Brown was banned from entering the UK in 2010 after he was arrested in 2009 for assaulting his then-girlfriend, artist Rihanna, after a Grammys party.

Reactions to the singer’s addition to the Wireless Festival line-up have been mixed.

"Did yous forget why he was banned from entering?" one concerned person replied to the announcement, while another told the festival organisers: “No one asked for this, we actually asked that you didn’t do this.”

Others have shared their excitement about Brown’s UK festival comeback, praising Wireless for the news. One fan wrote: "You have no idea how long British fans have wanted to see Chris Brown perform. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."