**Linkin Park Officially Announces 2025 Reunion Tour, Marking Emotional Return to Global Stages With New Music, Celebratory Performances, and Tribute to Late Frontman Chester Bennington Across Multiple Continents**
The world of rock music stood still on the morning of June 26, 2025, as Linkin Park—one of the defining bands of the 2000s—officially announced their long-awaited reunion tour. For millions of fans across the globe, it was more than just a tour announcement. It was a resurrection of sound, memory, and emotion—a collective heartbeat restarting after years of silence.
Titled **“Papercuts: The World Tour”**, the 2025 run will span six continents, beginning in Los Angeles in September before traveling to London, Tokyo, São Paulo, Johannesburg, Sydney, and dozens of cities in between. For the first time in nearly a decade, Linkin Park will stand together on stage, guitars in hand, lights blazing, and the echoes of their past louder than ever.
The announcement came via a video posted to the band’s official YouTube channel—an emotional, cinematic piece that opened with black-and-white footage of the band’s early days: rehearsal rooms in Agoura Hills, California, sweaty club gigs, grainy shots of Chester Bennington’s iconic scream in “One Step Closer.” The clip then faded into present day, revealing the remaining members—Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Dave “Phoenix” Farrell, Rob Bourdon, and Joe Hahn—sitting in a circle, surrounded by instruments and handwritten lyrics.
Mike Shinoda addressed the camera directly.
> “This isn’t just a reunion. This is a celebration. A thank-you. A tribute. A chance to sing these songs together again—louder, prouder, and with more love than ever before.”
### A Legacy Reborn
Since Chester Bennington’s tragic passing in 2017, the band had been largely dormant, taking time to heal both personally and creatively. Rumors of a reunion had circulated for years—fueled by surprise collaborations, cryptic tweets, and an unexpected demo release in 2023—but nothing concrete had emerged. That changed when, in early 2025, the band quietly re-entered the studio together.
Behind closed doors, they recorded a new EP, **“Phoenix Rising,”** which is set to drop in August, one month before the tour begins. According to Shinoda, the new music is a “fusion of reflection and evolution,” blending the band’s signature rap-rock sound with haunting melodies, orchestral undertones, and deeply introspective lyrics.
“We weren’t trying to replicate the past,” said Delson in a recent interview with *Rolling Stone*. “We were trying to honor it while finding something honest and new.”
### The Voice of a Generation
Chester Bennington’s absence remains deeply felt—not only among his bandmates but by an entire generation of fans who grew up screaming his words in bedrooms and mosh pits. His voice, raw and powerful, captured emotions too complex for simple language: rage, grief, alienation, hope.
The tour will pay tribute to Chester in every city. Each show will feature a special mid-set segment titled **“Letters to Chester”**—a blend of spoken word, video, and acoustic performance, curated by fans and the band. Submissions from fans around the world—letters, poems, drawings—will be featured on stage screens and included in a commemorative tour book.
In Chester’s vocal absence, several artists will join the tour as rotating guest performers. Among the confirmed collaborators: Oliver Sykes of Bring Me The Horizon, grandson, Amy Lee of Evanescence, and surprise appearances rumored from Corey Taylor and Hayley Williams.
Still, Mike Shinoda made it clear: “We’re not replacing Chester. No one could. We’re inviting friends to help us keep his voice alive.”
### A Show Like No Other
Early details about the show’s production suggest a visually immersive experience. Directed by Joe Hahn—who also helmed the “Somewhere I Belong” and “Breaking the Habit” music videos—the live set is expected to combine stunning holographics, interactive screens, and archival footage.
One scene reportedly features a duet between Shinoda and a projection of Chester, using restored concert vocals from a 2004 performance in Tokyo. The emotional moment, Hahn says, is “not meant to haunt, but to heal.”
The band also hinted at a revival of fan-favorite deep cuts from albums like *Meteora* and *A Thousand Suns*, as well as unreleased tracks that had previously remained locked in the band’s vault.
### Fan Reactions
Within hours of the announcement, #LinkinPark2025 was trending across every major platform. Fans around the world posted emotional videos, throwback photos, and heartfelt messages.
In Berlin, a group of superfans gathered at the Brandenburg Gate blasting “Numb” from a Bluetooth speaker. In São Paulo, a mural of Chester appeared overnight, with candles and flowers laid below. And in Los Angeles, long lines began forming outside the Wiltern Theatre—the venue for the tour’s intimate opening night, which sold out in 47 seconds.
Carlos Mendez, a fan from Mexico City, tweeted:
> “I cried. I screamed. I smiled. I miss Chester every day. But today, I feel like he’s here again.”
### Healing Through Sound
For Linkin Park, the tour isn’t just about nostalgia—it’s about recovery, unity, and connection.
“Grief doesn’t end,” said Shinoda. “But music helps carry it. Every chorus, every guitar riff—it’s all part of the healing.”
The band has partnered with several mental health organizations, including To Write Love On Her Arms and Mind UK, pledging a portion of ticket proceeds to support mental health awareness and suicide prevention. At each venue, fans will find “Safe Space” tents with counselors, resources, and opportunities to share their own stories.
“We lost our brother to something invisible,” said Farrell. “If this tour can shine even a little light in that darkness for someone else—then it’s worth every mile.”
### Looking Ahead
As the world prepares for the return of Linkin Park, there is an unshakable sense of both mourning and celebration in the air. This reunion is not a full-circle moment—it’s an open circle, an invitation. To remember. To rejoice. To sing.
In the final scene of the announcement video, Chester’s voice echoes one last time—taken from a 2012 interview.
> “If our music means something to people, then we’ve done our job. That’s the most anyone can ask for.”
As the screen fades to black, three words appear: *We’re still here.*
And indeed, they are.
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