only 25 shows in europe and 25 in north america according to live nation before christmas

[www.hotpress.com]

R is right!Also looking forward to miss them!

It'll be interesting to see what they're going to put ticket prices at - a good indicator for future Stones shows perhaps?...
As for the stage, I'm a big fan of the 360 in the round, wish the Stones would follow...

I'm really excited about the stage design, as they promised to do something that has never been done before, the result of "engineering genious" as Bono put it.

It's supposed to be 360° with nothing blocking the sightlines. But what are they going to do about the speakers? And what about the videos? There will be videos - but no screens as we know them. At this very moment I have no idea how this could work out.

Maybe they will use the floor of the stage as a giant screen (so that you can watch it from the seats) and put some old-scool screens at the roof of the stadium.
Or maybe use 3D-projection. Or use water foam or some kind of glass structure to project videos on...

Ticket prices are said to be kept quite low.

However, there was nothing given as to what to compare that to.

Their version of quite low is probably $75.00 + $25 in service charges (for maybe 10% of the seats that will most likley be posted on Ticketsnow for $400 at the same time the on-sale happens). Rest of the seats IMO will be $150 - $300 + service charges. Live Nation wants their investment back. If their staging is like the Britney Spears tour, the first 2 rows if reserved, will not be available to the public, only available on ticketsnow in pairs of 2 for $2,000 - $3,000 each.

the Irish edition of the News of the World yesterday states that the low end of the ticket prices will actually be as little as Eur 30.

The Dublin shows will be at Croke Park (capacity 82,000) on July 24,25 & 27.

If they are playing stadiums, there might be low priced tickets ($35-50) only because there are a lot of places in the U.S.(even as far back as Zoo TV) where they can't sell out a stadium. They can always raise the prices on premium seats and have special packages to bleed the fans who can or will pay more.

I wouldn't really use it as an indicator for future Stones tours though.

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Dan
If they are playing stadiums, there might be low priced tickets ($35-50) only because there are a lot of places in the U.S.(even as far back as Zoo TV) where they can't sell out a stadium. They can always raise the prices on premium seats and have special packages to bleed the fans who can or will pay more.

I wouldn't really use it as an indicator for future Stones tours though.

Not selling out during the Zoo TV tour is hard to imagine however, anythings possible in the music business. I saw them a couple of times during that tour and everyone of them was completely sold out. It supported a great musical release and they were really hot at the time.

I'm a fan club member and cannot wait to get my tickets. A highly entertaining act in my opinion.

CBII



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-03-03 01:11 by CBII.

Do they tour Australia?

Cheers,
Wuudy

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CBII

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Dan
If they are playing stadiums, there might be low priced tickets ($35-50) only because there are a lot of places in the U.S.(even as far back as Zoo TV) where they can't sell out a stadium. They can always raise the prices on premium seats and have special packages to bleed the fans who can or will pay more.

I wouldn't really use it as an indicator for future Stones tours though.

Not selling out during the Zoo TV tour is hard to imagine however, anythings possible in the music business. I saw them a couple of times during that tour and everyone of them was completely sold out. It supported a great musical release and they were really hot at the time.

They did 3 shows in LA but there were a few that weren't sold out at all! (Then the next tour was a near disaster). Here are some, some of these stadiums are bigger than the listed capacities. Of course it's remarkable to draw that many in some of these cities,

Saratoga Springs, NY 30,000 of 35,000
Montreal 42,210 of 43,000 ***(real capacity closer to 60k)
Pontiac, MI 36,740 of 40,000 (real capacity closer to 80k)
Columbia, SC 28,305 of 40,136
Miami, FL 45,244 of 46,000
Birmingham, AL 35,209 of 41,632
Tampa, FL 41,909 of 42,500
Houston, TX 31,884 of 35,000
Kansas City 37,867 if 40,000
Tempe, AZ 35,177 of 40,000
El Paso 35,564 of 39,500
San Diego 33,575 of 55,000
Las Vegas 27,774 of 37,011

Which...thing in Pontiac are you talking about?

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R
I haven't seen U2 in twenty years. I'm looking forward to missing this tour too.

i could not agree more with you. Can these clowns just go away.

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skipstone
Which...thing in Pontiac are you talking about?

The Silverdome, I think?

Kiss The Future, U2's world tour in support of the band's new album "No Line on the Horizon," will play stadiums around the world, beginning June 30 in Barcelona, Billboard can exclusively reveal. Details of the tour will be announced March 9.

It’s a groundbreaking tour with production that includes a 360-degree audience configuration, ambitious staging, and a cylindrical video screen. “We’re very excited about the idea to go on the road with this album,” the Edge says. “It’s an album that I think is going to translate so well to the live context. The songs we’ve tried in rehearsal are sounding fantastic, so that’s got everyone really fired up.”

U2 will be playing in a setting unique among all previous tours, by any artist. The tour will be global and lengthy. U2 will stay in Europe through Aug. 22, then hit American shores on Sept. 12 with a show at Soldier Field in Chicago; they’ll play in North America until Oct. 28 and plan on working the globe until the fall of 2010. In addition to its production firsts, the tour is destined to become one of the highest-grossing tours ever; at $389 million, the band’s 2005-2007 Vertigo tour is second only to the Rolling Stones’ A Bigger Bang trek.

After playing arenas in North America and stadiums elsewhere on their last few tours, U2 will play stadiums everywhere this time out. “This is going to be completely different, and that’s what makes it exciting, finding something new to bring to the touring culture,” says the Edge. “It’s hard to come up with something that’s fundamentally different, but we have, I think, on this tour. Where we’re taking our production will never have been seen before by anybody, and that’s an amazing thing to be able to say. For a band like U2 that really thrive on breaking new ground it’s a real thrill.”

As they have for well over a decade, LiveNation global music chairman Arthur Fogel and his team will produce and promote U2 worldwide. Committing to a global stadium tour is “obviously a major undertaking on a bunch of different levels,” says Fogel. “On the last tour it basically broke down indoors in America and stadiums outside of America. Both shows were pretty different and they were both incredible, but I think the general feeling, and certainly mine, was the experience of U2 in a stadium is special and unique, and it would be great for North America to experience that the way the rest of the world did the last time around.”

Playing in a 360 configuration will increase the capacity by about 15%-20%, depending on the stadium. The configuration opens up myriad opportunities for scaling ticket prices, an important consideration for Fogel and the band. The top ticket price will be slightly higher than last time and the bottom price will be lower, with the floor seats — the closest to the stage — the lowest priced. In fact, playing larger capacity venues allows for more conservative pricing overall. Field level is going to be $55, and there will be 10,000 tickets a show, every show, at $30, Fogel says. The price points are $250, $90-$95, depending on the market; $55, and $30.

On-sales will begin in Europe in mid-March, and North American on-sales will start in late March/early April. U2 will also resurrect it's random upgrade program first seen on Elevation in 2001, where random fans purchasing GA tickets will be moved closest to the stage.

The basic layout of the tour is Euro July/Aug., America Sept.-Oct, a total of 40-45 shows this year; more stadiums in America in June/July next year, then Aug/Sept in Europe, then tentatively South America in the fall of 2010 for potentially as many as 90-100 shows over the next two years.

This will be the first tour under U2’s 12-year multi-rights deal with Live Nation, though the band’s relationship with Fogel dates back to a show at the El Mocambo in Toronto in 1979. “Arthur and I are great friends and I’ve been very interested in the Live Nation project for years now, and we’ve been very supportive of it,” says U2 manager Paul McGuinness. “We obviously intend to go on performing for a long time to come and that’s what the deal reflects. U2 always had parallel careers as recording artists and a touring act and it was always fundamental to our way of thinking that the two should be complimentary.”

[www.billboard.com]

The Tour will start in Bacelona (Camp Nou) on June 20th!

At least, that's what was released by u2.com minutes ago.
As the second show on that list is in early July, I fear that there is a mistake in that list and the first show will be on June 30th instead of June 20th.

Anyway, Berlin will be on July 18th and Gelsenkirchen/Schalke on August 3rd.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-03-09 10:13 by Papo.

What about the other dates? Can´t get in to u2.com...

All servers down.

Edit: It's indeed a typo on u2.com! Barcelona show will be on June 30th.

[360.u2.com]

When is the pre-sale date for the show at ullevi? Can´t find any date except the public on sale date...that is on friday 13...

Very few dates with long brakes between. Will they add some dates? This amount of dates will be heaven for scalpers...

Designed by Mark Fisher?

As for starters I'd be very surprised if they wouldn't add a second show in Gothenburg and London as well.

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Rik
Designed by Mark Fisher?

Yes, and Willie Williams.

ah oke Thanks!

Maybe a great idea for the next stonestour, to use something like that. A bit like that stage they used for the Superbowl

85% of the tickets will cost less than 100 Euros.

For each show, there will be 10.000 tickets for 30 Euros.

I stated U2 started in Barcelona, and here it´s!!!!
Vaaaamoossss!!!!

Carlitos
Tenerife

Estadio Nou Camp, Barcelona and set,
Carlitos
Tenerife

If the information about ticket prices is correct, this would be a great move for fans. At least standing tickets would then be cheaper than on the Vertigo tour three years ago.

However, it seems to me there are very few dates for Europe. Only 1 show in Germany obviously and only 1 in Spain as well.