Westlife Announce Tour Dates, including Croke Park Gig ...

Seeing as their last farewell concerts were held in Croke Park back in 2012, it's only fitting that Westlife will once again perform at the stadium on their upcoming reunion tour.

Westlife today announced that they will play a dozen dates between May and July next year, including two nights at the Belfast SSE Arena and one at Croke Park on 5 July.

The dates announced today are:

Sat 25 May: Belfast SSE Arena

Sun 26 May: Belfast SSE Arena

Thu 30 May: Manchester Arena

Fri 31 May: Newcastle Metro Radio Arena

Mon 03 June: Glasgow The SSE Hydro

Fri 07 June: Sheffield Fly DSA Arena

Mon 10 June: Leeds First Direct Arena

Thu 13 June: London The O2

Tue 18 June: Nottingham Motorpoint Arena

Fri 21 June: Birmingham Arena

Tue 25 June: Liverpool Echo Arena

Fri 5th July: Dublin Croke Park

Tickets from €59.50 will be on sale Thursday, 25 October at 9am via Ticketmaster.

.@westlifemusic return with #TheTwentyTour and are kicking off at @SSEBelfastArena next May! 🎉 Tickets on sale Thursday 25 October @ 9am 🎫 pic.twitter.com/SUCspuMcxR

— SSE Arena Belfast (@SSEBelfastArena) 17 de octubre de 2018

The reunion didn't really come as a surprise to Westlife fans. Nicky Byrne had spoken in the past about how Westlife, who sold over 55million records in their heyday, always wanted to a reunion to coincide with the 20th anniversary of their first single, which was back in 1998.

"I think a reunion is getting closer, next year we’re 20 years since we released Swear It Again, the year after we’re 21 years," Nicky once told RSVP Magazine.

"One day it would be great to do it again but it’s not happening until you hear from the four of us, not management not anyone else. The offers are there and I think they will always be there which is nice to feel like that.

"Even leaving the financial element aside, it’s nice to get back onstage, that would be brilliant, you can never relive those moments until you do them again."

The reunion doesn't include Brian McFadden. “The other guys have been lined up to return to the studio and record some new songs and tour dates have even been organised, so it’s definitely going ahead this time. There’s been a lot of speculation, but this time it’s a done deal and contracts have been signed.”

Ed Sheeran is understood to be helping the Irish band record new material, including their first comeback single, according to Simon Boyle writing in his column for the The Sun newspaper.

Simon says: "I can reveal that none other than Ed Sheeran is the mastermind behind Westlife’s reunion — and has secretly co-written the group a shock new single."

Confirming that Ed is working with Westlife, a source says: “Westlife have really been pulling out all the stops for their big comeback and were desperate to get Ed on board. It took quite some time to pull together and has been done totally behind closed doors, but he has finally given them the right record to make it happen.

“Having Ed involved is a huge coup. They think he will give them a contemporary edge for their reunion. They have already recorded the song and are delighted with the results. They’re just pulling together the final promo details including a video before they unveil it. It’s going to be huge.”

After 14 years the band announced they were parting ways in 2011 to the devastation of fans.Last month, however, rumors began to circulate that the band were getting back together.

Now, the news has been officially confirmed by the boys themselves in a Twitter video promising, "New Music. New Tour".

The video showed the bandmates having a laugh, seated on their trademark concert stools in a black and white filter.

pic.twitter.com/Z5DInB05Tq

— Westlife (@westlifemusic) October 3, 2018

This will be the first show the group, made of Shane Filan, Kian Egan, Nicky Byrne and Mark Feehily, will play since their farewell concerts in Croke Park in 2012 and their first new album since 2010's Gravity.

Speaking to The Sun about the recent announcement Shane said, "We still have a lot that we want to achieve as a band and we want to bring our new music to fans all over the world."

Nicky continued: "While we were away, we realized what Westlife really meant to the fans — and to us."

Meanwhile, Kian said he's excited that now the group's children will get to enjoy Westlife's music, along with seeing their fathers on stage. Mark added that the band is as close as ever, saying "it felt so great to be back in the studio together and hanging out with each other again. It just felt right."