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| U2 360° Tour | |
|---|---|
| Concert tour name | U2 360° Tour |
| Artist | U2 |
| Album | All That You Can't Leave Behind; How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb; No Line on the Horizon |
| Start date | 30 June 2009 |
| End date | 30 July 2011 |
| Number of shows | 110 |
U2 360° Tour
The U2 360° Tour was a worldwide concert tour by U2 supporting the albums All That You Can't Leave Behind, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, and No Line on the Horizon. Conceived after the Vertigo Tour, the tour featured a revolutionary stage design, unprecedented attendance figures, and collaborations with prominent designers and promoters including Willie Williams, New World Stages, Live Nation Entertainment, and Brian Eno. It visited stadiums across Europe, North America, South America, Oceania, and Asia and set multiple revenue and attendance records involving venues such as Croke Park, Rose Bowl, and Wembley Stadium.
Development began following the final dates of the Vertigo Tour and during sessions with producers Daniel Lanois, Brian Eno, and Steve Lillywhite. Influences cited included the theatrical work of Peter Gabriel, the stagecraft of Pink Floyd, and the stadium ambitions of Bruce Springsteen. Management meetings involved representatives from Live Nation Entertainment, MCD Productions, AEG Presents, and promoters such as Michael Cohl; technical briefings consulted engineering firms and manufacturers including Arup Group and Stadium Australia. The concept emphasized a 360-degree audience configuration inspired by arenas used by Genesis and architectural precedents like London Stadium and the Shanghai Stadium.
Central to the tour was a 360-degree stage with an imposing four-legged steel structure nicknamed "The Claw", designed by stage designer Willie Williams and structural engineers including teams from Arup Group and fabricators linked to GL Events. The structure incorporated lighting rigs by PRG, video screens engineered with input from Barco NV and concert visual teams associated with Anton Corbijn, and sound systems developed in collaboration with Meyer Sound Laboratories. The engineering challenge drew on precedents from Olympic Stadium roof structures and concert set pieces like The Wall. Logistics required coordination with local authorities including municipal bodies in Barcelona, Chicago, Dublin, and São Paulo and regulatory frameworks such as those applied at Wembley Stadium.
The tour commenced in Barcelona and moved through major markets with legs across Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and Oceania. Notable stops included Croke Park in Dublin, Hampden Park, San Siro, Estadio River Plate, Beijing National Stadium, Melbourne Cricket Ground, and Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The itinerary intersected major festivals and events including Glastonbury Festival, national celebrations in Ireland, and international sporting fixtures at venues like Camp Nou and Soccer City. Scheduling involved ticketing partners such as Ticketmaster and marketing collaborations with broadcasters like BBC Radio 1, MTV, and NBC.
Set lists blended tracks from All That You Can't Leave Behind, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, and No Line on the Horizon with classics from The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, War, and Boy. Songs commonly performed included "Beautiful Day", "One", "Where the Streets Have No Name", "With or Without You", and "Mysterious Ways". Special appearances featured collaborators such as Jay-Z and guest musicians connected to producers like Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. Visual elements incorporated work by photographers and directors including Anton Corbijn and video artists who had worked on projects with Madonna and R.E.M..
The tour became the highest-grossing concert tour in history at the time, surpassing grosses of tours by Madonna, The Rolling Stones, and AC/DC. It set attendance and revenue records at venues including Rose Bowl and Croke Park, and reported ticket sales handled through Ticketmaster and promoters such as Live Nation Entertainment. Financial reports compared its box office against historical tours like The Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang Tour and Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour. The scale led to sponsorship discussions with global brands and broadcast deals involving HBO, Sky Arts, and RTÉ.
Critics praised the ambition of the stage and histrionics of the live show in publications such as Rolling Stone, The Guardian, The New York Times, and NME. Others criticized the environmental footprint, citing transportation emissions and construction impact in reports by organizations like Greenpeace and commentary in outlets including BBC News and The Independent. Legal disputes and logistical controversies arose over noise, crowd control, and construction permits in municipalities including Dublin City Council, Los Angeles City Council, and regulatory agencies overseeing São Paulo. Debates referenced touring economics discussed by scholars affiliated with institutions like London School of Economics and cultural critics writing for The Atlantic.
The tour influenced subsequent stadium productions by artists such as Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Kanye West, and The Rolling Stones and informed stage engineering approaches used by companies like PRG (production company) and Meyer Sound Laboratories. It prompted venues and city planners in Berlin, Buenos Aires, Melbourne, and Tokyo to re-evaluate staging logistics and crowd management, and inspired documentary coverage by broadcasters including HBO and BBC. The tour's technological and commercial benchmarks continue to be cited in analyses by music industry bodies such as the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and trade publications like Billboard.
Category:Concert tours Category:U2 concert tours