Sir Paul McCartney announces European tour

Sir Paul McCartney has announced a European tour.

The iconic performer will play a string of live shows later this year, kicking off with a performance at The O2 Arena in London on May 23, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' hit, 'Yesterday'.

Speaking about the milestone and live show, he said: "For me it's a happy coincidence that The O2 show falls at this time. It's great that people all over the world reacted so well to the song, it's all you can hope for! It feels like it has taken on a life of its own over the years. The song still is and always has been an important part of our live show. It's always very emotional for me to hear crowds singing it so loudly at my concerts and I'm looking forward to singing it along with the audience at the O2 in May."

As well as London, the 72-year-old singer-songwriter will visit Birmingham and Liverpool on his 'Out There' tour's UK dates, before heading to France, Holland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden throughout June and July.

Beginning 18 months ago, Paul - who recently collaborated with Rihanna and Kanye West on new single 'FourFiveSeconds' - has performed 64 shows in 12 different countries while on the tour, but is eager to carry on with his European dates.

He explained: "I'm looking forward to taking the 'Out There' tour back to Europe this summer. It's been a little while since I've performed in some of these places so we know it's going to be a fun tour. I hope the audiences enjoy this tour as much as we've been enjoying it ourselves all over the world."

Sir Paul McCartney's 2015 European tour dates:

May 23 - The O2, London, Great Britain

May 27 - Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, Great Britain

May 28 - Echo Arena, Liverpool, Great Britain

June 5 - Nouveau Stade Velodrome, Marseille, France

June 7 - ZiggoDome, Amsterdam, Holland

June 11 - Stade De France, Paris, France

July 4 - Roskilde Festival, Denmark

July 7 - Telenor Arena, Oslo, Norway

July 9 - Tele2 Arena, Stockholm, Sweden