Westlife celebrated their 25th anniversary in style at London’s Royal Albert Hall with a surprise appearance from Katherine Jenkins — as Niall Horan was spotted in the crowd, singing along to the band’s biggest hits.
The Welsh soprano, 44, walked out onto the stage during the final moments of the sold-out concert, performing a stirring duet of You Raise Me Up alongside Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Nicky Byrne.
The performance saw the audience rise to their feet in applause as Jenkins hit the song’s iconic high note.
Meanwhile, the One Direction star, 32, was among the celebrity guests in attendance alongside his long-time partner Amelia Woolley.
The concert marked second of two sold-out Royal Albert Hall performances celebrating Westlife’s 25 years in music.
The shows also featured a surprise guest appearance from The Greatest Showman singer Loren Allred, who performed Flying Without Wings in tribute to Feehily, who has been unable to tour due to health issues.
Paying tribute to their bandmate, Filan told the crowd: “I want to take a minute to talk about Mark, who unfortunately is not with us tonight.
“The good news is he's on the new music, we had our new song [Chariot] come out last week and new songs coming and he sounded better than ever.”
He went on to reassure fans: “He’s very much still part of our band, we love him, we miss him and we can’t wait to have him back on this stage.”
The audience was packed with famous faces including Sam Ryder, Cian Ducrot, Scott Mills, Big Zuu, Michael Flatley and Sinitta, all joining fans in singing along to the band’s biggest hits.
Reflecting on the milestone gig and what performing at the Royal Albert Hall meant to them, Byrne shared: “Three years ago I think it was when we first discussed the Royal Albert Hall, we’ve only ever been here once before and we performed You Raise Me Up at a charity event many, many years ago.
“In fact 20 years ago would you believe? And we decided to do a venue like this, obviously takes a lot of preparation that’s why we have an amazing band and an amazing orchestra but when you think about this venue and think about the people who stood on this stage, Kings and Queens to The Beatles to The Rolling Stones, the Eurovision Song Contest in 1968 with Cliff Richards and Congratulations, right down to Frank Sinatra and then you have Westlife.
“It’s kind of mind-blowing to be honest with you, it’s incredible.”
While Egan added: “It amazing to play such an amazing venue like here, what a night to do it on, celebrating 25 years of Westlife”.
During the milestone gig, the trio performed their new single Chariot — co-written by Ed Sheeran, which features on their forthcoming album 25 – The Ultimate Collection, out 13 February 2026.
The event was filmed for Westlife 25 Live at the Royal Albert Hall, which will be screened in more than 400 UK cinemas from 29 November.
Fans will soon have another chance to see Westlife live, with tickets for Westlife 25: The Anniversary World Tour going on sale this Friday, October 31.
The milestone tour kicks off in Dublin on 15 September 2026, where the band will play an incredible 13-night residency before heading across Europe.
UK fans will also get their moment, with dates in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, London, Brighton, Bournemouth, Birmingham, Cardiff and Manchester — including a major show at London’s O2 Arena on 9 October — before the tour wraps up in Zurich on 26 November.
