Oak View Group, the organization renovating the Hamilton Arena (formerly the FirstOntario Centre/Copps Coliseum), announced that they have confirmed two major events for the venue – a concert featuring Andrea Bocelli on Dec. 9, 2025 and the 2026 Juno Awards in the spring.
Their website now also confirms that the arena will be opening in December 2025, suggesting that Bocelli will be the very first performance at the newly renovated space.
The Italian tenor’s performance in Hamilton will be part of his December American tour.
Bocelli will perform in Dallas, Texas on Dec. 4, Lexington, Kentucky on Dec. 6, Detroit, Michigan on Dec. 7 before the Hamilton performance on Dec. 9.
He’ll then move on to Boston, Massachusetts, give four more performances along the east coast of the United States, including at Madison Square Garden in New York, before ending the tour in Miami, Florida on Dec. 21.
The tour will reportedly be featuring “music in honour of the Holiday Season, with selections from [Bocelli’s] recent #1 album A Family Christmas as well as the Deluxe Edition, his uplifting solo album Believe, and a selection of arias, his beloved crossover hits, and famed love songs.”
Bocelli’s music career began 30 years ago and he has sold nearly 90 million records worldwide.
He has also collaborated on songs with Ed Sheeran, Celine Dion, Luciano Pavarotti, Shania Twain, Chris Stapleton, Karol G, and others.
All shows will be conducted by internationally acclaimed American Maestro Steven Mercurio.
The arena will also be hosting the 55th annual JUNO Awards in 2026, marking the seventh time that the City of Hamilton has hosted the event.
The JUNOs celebrate the best in Canadian music.
JUNO Week will be held from Thursday, Mar. 26 to Sunday, Mar. 29, 2026, with the JUNO Awards broadcast airing live on the Sunday.
The JUNOs generate an average economic impact of $12 million for host cities each year.
Responding to both major announcements, Nick DeLuco, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Oak View Group, said in a press release, “We are thrilled to welcome Andrea Bocelli, one of our generation’s most legendary performers, to Hamilton for the first time. With the recent announcement of the 2026 Juno Awards taking place at Hamilton Arena, our opening season is beginning to take shape as we blend world-class artistry with the revitalized energy of our venue.”
Oak View Group is aiming for the Hamilton Arena to be “the centrepiece of a premier music, sports, and live entertainment destination in Southwestern Ontario.”
It is also expected that the venue will have a new name once a sponsorship deal is reached.
It remains to be seen what that name will be as well as what other performances will be held at the venue.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
