U2 have offered a first look at the stage design and lighting for their highly anticipated Greatest Show on Earth stadium tour, giving fans a glimpse of the production they can expect on the worldwide trek.
U2’s worldwide tour is scheduled to begin Feb. 23 in Mexico City, with Latin America dates running through March and European shows planned from April through July. The band has not announced U.S. performances, which are expected soon. U2’s new album, Carnival De Luz, is set for release Nov. 13.
In a recent interview with iHeartRadio host Stryker, U2 shared the first images of the tour’s stage design and lighting (video below). “I have asked if people are interested in seeing some of the sketches that we have done for the tour,” Bono began, joking that none of the “grownups” who work with the band said no.
To the delight of the fans in attendance, the band showed several slides revealing the planned stage design. The first image featured a stage concealed behind massive red curtains.
‘We’re Playing With the Idea of Show Business’
“We can’t tell you what’s behind the curtain, because then we would have to kill you,” Bono joked. “But a lot is going to go on behind the curtain. We’re playing with this idea of show business. We never thought we were in show business. For us, we’re making art. So it’s a little play on shamanism and show business.”
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A second image showed the four members of U2 emerging from behind the red curtains through a sea of fog. “Pink Floyd had ‘The Wall’, we’ve got the red curtains,” Bono remarked.
The third image featured strings of yellow bulbs and a circle of lighting towers, making part of the stage resemble a big top and reinforcing the tour’s carnival theme. “There’s the carnival,” Bono noted, describing the lights as “festooning.” “And you’ll notice the ‘Carnival De Luz’ [sign] is up there, but it’s facing backwards because everyone in the audience is kind of backstage, is how we see it.”
The Greatest Show on Earth tour will be U2’s first tour since 2019. The Irish group also held a residency at the Sphere, which ran from Sept. 2023 to March 2024.
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Gallery Credit: UCR Staff
