K-ARTIST UPDATES · OCTOBER 20, 2026
Twenty-five acts are now listed across the two days of the 2026 Music Bank Global Festival in Japan. The December 12–13 stadium event brings Stray Kids, IVE, aespa, LE SSERAFIM and a wide range of K-pop performers to Tokyo.
The 2026 MUSIC BANK GLOBAL FESTIVAL IN JAPAN has unveiled its two-day artist schedule, creating one of the busiest K-pop stadium lineups on the December calendar. The official festival site currently lists 25 musical acts for December 12 and 13 at MUFG Stadium (Japan National Stadium) in Tokyo.
The number matters because it covers two different bills, not 25 performers on one evening. Saturday mixes established groups, solo singers and newer acts; Sunday’s programme leans toward stadium-size touring names alongside the next wave of Korean and Japanese pop artists.
Saturday, December 12: twelve performances
The official first-day lineup is MISAMO, NAYEON of TWICE, ATEEZ, aespa, NiziU, INI, RIIZE, TWS, NCT WISH, KickFlip, Hearts2Hearts and ALPHA DRIVE ONE. It is an especially varied day: two TWICE-related acts share a billing with a leading girl group, several rising boy groups and performers with established Japanese audiences.
SANA of MISAMO will host on Saturday alongside Kim Jaewon. As an artist and MC, SANA occupies two different parts of the programme; that should not be counted as an additional twenty-sixth musical act.
Sunday, December 13: thirteen more acts
Sunday’s official schedule lists Stray Kids, ITZY, IVE, LE SSERAFIM, &TEAM, xikers, BOYNEXTDOOR, ZEROBASEONE, RESCENE, NEXZ, CORTIS, AEN and TUIDE. Those thirteen names bring the total to twenty-five.
The MC pairing changes on Sunday: Kim Jaewon returns, joined by Jang Wonyoung of IVE. As with the first-day presenters, the MC role is separate from the official artist count.
Tokyo stadium logistics for both days
The event is scheduled at MUFG Stadium, also known as the National Stadium, in Tokyo’s Shinjuku area. The announced schedule gives 3 p.m. doors and a 5 p.m. start on each day, both in Japan Standard Time. Organizers may still revise operating arrangements.
The official site describes a two-day reserved-seat pass priced at ¥40,000 including tax, with separate advance sales for particular seating products. Promotional tickets, single-day access and upgrades have their own eligibility and deadlines; fans should not assume that a price for one type of pass covers every category.
Why the split lineup is worth reading closely
Someone planning to see aespa or Hearts2Hearts needs a December 12 ticket, while a fan whose priority is Stray Kids or IVE needs December 13. The bill cannot be treated as a single combined performance schedule.
The appearance of groups with strong fanbases in Japan alongside rising acts also makes the festival more than a straightforward greatest-hits showcase. It gives viewers an opportunity to see different generations and styles of pop on the same event format. That variety can be compelling, but no unexpected collaborations, exact song lists or surprise guests should be assumed merely from the shared calendar.
This article is based on the festival’s current official list and its October 16 third-wave artist announcement. The concerts remain scheduled for December. Any subsequent lineup change must be checked against the organizer’s live notices before publication.