Harry Styles to raffle off orchestral meltdown show for youth charity

The one-night-only show, taking place on 16 June at the Royal Festival Hall, will see Styles joined by the Jules Buckley Orchestra. Buckley, a Grammy-winning conductor and composer, previously worked with Styles on string arrangements for his Together, Together tour. The pair are billing the evening as a rare, intimate orchestral reworking of Styles’s catalogue.

“Coming Up Roses was my first time working with Jules,” Styles explains. “He’s incredibly talented, and is such a generous collaborator. He’s become someone I love working with. It was obvious as soon as Southbank asked me to curate Meltdown, it was the perfect opportunity to do something really beautiful with him.”

The prize draw allocates 1,900 seats (950 pairs) via a randomised process. Entrants can purchase one, two or three entries at £20, £40 or £60 respectively, with a maximum of two tickets (one pair) per winner. The draw is open to UK residents aged 18 and over, closing online at 12pm on 15 May. Winners will be notified by 2 June.

All net proceeds from both the concert and entry fees will support the Southbank Centre’s work with young people. The venue says it currently provides more than 25,000 young people annually with free cultural experiences through programmes including Youth Voices, Creative Encounters and its free Under-30s membership.

Mark Ball, artistic director of the Southbank Centre, said the fundraiser arrives at a time when UK councils are spending 76% less on youth services than in 2010, and one in five school pupils report struggling with their mental health. “Entries into this prize draw support the Southbank Centre’s artistic and community programmes at a time when access to the arts, creative health and wellbeing for young people matter more than ever,” Ball said. “It’s a simple idea with real impact – an extraordinary cultural moment helping to sustain access to culture in the long term.”

Beyond the headline fundraiser, Styles’s Meltdown curation (running 11–21 June) includes a programme of free gigs and participatory events. Highlights include a photography exhibition by young refugees and asylum seekers, a futuretense gig with deep tan, a Simmer Down reggae special with Tomorrow’s Warriors, a reunion for New Young Pony Club (joined by LCD Soundsystem’s Al Doyle), and a closing-night performance from electronic duo Soulwax.

Styles is the 31st curator of Meltdown, following Little Simz (2025), Chaka Khan, Grace Jones, David Byrne, Yoko Ono, Nile Rodgers, M.I.A., David Bowie and Patti Smith.