There comes a point in the career of many new artists when the opportunity to see them in an 'intimate' venue passes, as their pull means they perform only in huge tin sheds with terrible acoustics, rather than gorgeous old theatres which were created for the purpose.

For some, it is a death knell; a bridge too far. When Babyshambles played the MEN Arena it became clear that they were never going to be able to fill that space with enough personality or presence to present a coherent show. One suspects that the iridescent Florence Welch will not struggle to reach out to the MEN's 20,000 punters when she visits as part of her hugely anticipated 2012 tour.

Ever since 'Florence' exploded onto the music scene like a thousand Roman Candles, towering anthems like 'Dog Days are Over' have fought against the constraints of smaller venues. The low ceiling at the Manchester Academy preventing Flo from reaching her lung-bursting highs and the Radio 1/NME tent at the Leeds Festival only able to accommodate 15,000 fans who had the breath squeezed out of them so they were unable to sing along.

No, everything about Florence Welch is of epic proportions. Her larger than life stage presence, her teeth-rattling vocal range, her breathtaking (and reckless) scaling of stage sets, the sales of her debut record, 'Lungs'.

The second album, 'Ceremonials', released last month, looks just as strong, already topping the charts here and in Australia and reaching an impressive No 6 on the Billboard chart. 'Lungs' was a so-called game-changer for indie baroque pop and the Apollos and Academies of this land just can't handle it. The sheds beckon. And, for a change, it might just be for the best.

Florence Welch will, with her Machine, kick off the tour at The O2 in Dublin on 2nd March, followed by arena dates in Bournemouth, Cardiff, Nottingham, London (two shows at Alexandra Palace), Glasgow, Birmingham and Manchester, before the final gig at Newcastle's Metro Radio Arena on 16th March 2012.

We will have tickets for all dates when they go on sale at 9AM on Friday 25th November, priced €39 to €44 for Dublin and £29.50 for all UK dates.

Support for the tour comes from The Horrors, with Spector opening for all shows except the second Alexandra Palace gig when Theme Park will open.

Update: many dates now sold out!

At the time of writing (9:45 AM), tickets for Dublin, Bournemouth and Brighton have now sold out, but there are still a few tickets for all other dates at face value.

An extra date has been added for London's Alexandra Palace (10th March), but that is now also sold out. We'll keep you updated if any other dates are announced.