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Vertigo Tour
World tour by U2
Location
  • North America
  • Europe
  • South America
  • Oceania
  • Asia
Associated albumHow to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
Start date28 March 2005
End date9 December 2006
Legs5
No. of shows131
Attendance4,619,021
Box officeUS$389 million
U2 concert chronology

The Vertigo Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 2004 album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, the tour visited arenas and stadiums between March 2005 and December 2006. The Vertigo Tour consisted of five legs that alternated between indoor arena shows in North America and outdoor stadium shows internationally.[1] Much like the previous Elevation Tour, the indoor portion of the Vertigo Tour featured a stripped-down, intimate stage design. Protruding from the main stage was an ellipse-shaped catwalk that encapsulated a small number of fans.[2]

The tour grossed US$260 million in 110 sold-out concerts in 2005, making it the top-grossing tour of the year.[3] In North America alone, the tour grossed $138.9 million from 1.4 million tickets sold.[4] The Vertigo Tour won the 2005 Billboard Roadwork Touring Awards for Top Tour, Top Draw, and Top Single Event, and U2's management company Principle Management won for Top Manager.[5] By the time it finished, the Vertigo Tour had sold 4,619,021 tickets from 131 shows, and became the second-highest-grossing concert tour with $389 million earned.[6] The tour was depicted in three concert films: Vertigo 2005: Live from Chicago, Vertigo: Live from Milan, and U2 3D.

Itinerary

[edit]
U2 performs in Anaheim on April 1, 2005.

After rehearsing for several months in Vancouver, and stage rehearsals at Baja Studios in Rosarito, Mexico. The tour's opening night was on 28 March 2005 at the iPayOne Center in San Diego, California. The first leg through North America consisted of 28 sold-out indoor arena shows and finished on 28 May in Boston, Massachusetts.

The second leg was a European stadium tour, commencing on 10 June in Brussels and finishing on 14 August in Lisbon. They played in a number of venues including Amsterdam, London, Dublin, Madrid, Milan, and Oslo. U2 broke Irish box office marks with ticket sales for three Croke Park concerts in Dublin, after more than 240,000 tickets were sold in record time. In The Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Austria, the tickets were all sold within 60 minutes.

The symbols of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity form the word "CoeXisT" during a performance of "Sunday Bloody Sunday".

The band then returned to North America in the autumn for the third leg, playing 50 sold-out shows in indoor arenas, starting on September 12 in Toronto and finishing up on December 19 in Portland, Oregon.

A fourth leg began on 12 February 2006 in Monterrey, Mexico, and ran through March visiting Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile; many of these locales had not seen a live U2 performance in nearly a decade and proved to be a hugely successful leg, with massive audiences attending these shows.

On 9 March 2006, it was announced the final 10 shows in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and Hawaii were postponed due to guitarist The Edge's 7-year-old daughter Sian's diagnosis of leukaemia. (The initial start of the tour had been postponed for the same reason, prior to any tickets being sold.) On 20 July 2006, it was announced that they were rescheduled for November and December, with some adjustments and additions of dates. The fifth leg started on 7 November in Brisbane, Australia and concluded on 9 December 2006 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii after thirteen shows.

Stage design

[edit]
The stage and LED curtain viewed from the rear at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia on 22 May 2005.

The Vertigo Tour's production was designed by architect Mark Fisher and stage and lighting designer Willie Williams. Key elements were an ellipse-shaped ramp on the floor connected to the stage, with some fans inside it and some outside it (similar to the heart-shaped ramp used on the previous Elevation Tour). The inside area of the ellipse came to be known as the "bomb shelter", in reference to the supporting album.[7]

In the North American shows, a set of seven retractable, see-through LED-based lighted bead curtains hung behind and to the side of the stage, showing abstract patterns, maps, moving figures, and occasionally text. The curtain design permitted concertgoers around the arena to have an excellent view of the curtains above the band and the images they displayed.[8] The roll-drop LED screens were designed by Fisher using 360deg golf-ball pixels developed with Frederic Opsomer of Innovative Designs in Belgium. The spherical LED product joined the BARCO product line as the Mi-Sphere. The Vertigo Tour used 189 strings of these "MiSphere" LED balls suspended from custom truss, which allows the LED curtains to be rolled up.[8] High above the center stage hung the MiSphere strings, each containing 64 spheres and totaling nine meters long. Dynamic, "moving" lights were also embedded in the stage and the B-stage ramp, as well. Four screens suspended above the stage showed close-ups of each member of the band, another element reused from the Elevation Tour.[9]

For the European, Latin American and Australian stadium shows, the bead curtains were replaced by an LED screen behind the band. The screen was assembled from BARCO O-Lite modules. The assembly of the screen was similar to the rigging used for the LED screen in the PopMart Tour. The ellipse was also replaced with two catwalks leading to two B-stages in the style of the 'Vertigo target'.

Lighting gear list

[edit]

The following gear was used for the show's lighting:[8]

  • 54 Martin MAC 2000 Wash
  • 15 Vari*Lite VL3000
  • 37 Martin Atomic 3000 Strobe
  • 66 2x2 DWE audience blinders
  • 12 Lycian M2 Follow Spot
  • 6 Strong 3K Gladiator Follow Spot
  • 6 Saco Technologies LED Factory Light (custom)
  • 24 ETC Source Four Leko
  • 6 Lowell Tota light
  • 6 1x4 DWE audience blinders
  • 2 18K HMI Fresnel
  • 1 Flying Pig Systems WholeHog 3 console (running beta version of the new 1.3.9 software)
  • 189 MiSphere string
  • 4 Barco G10 projector
  • 5 Barco G5 projector
  • 5 Folsom Encore image processor

A PlayStation controller was used to control High End Systems DL1 units for audience shots presented on the large video screens.[8]

Set list

[edit]

The show's set list varied, with notable differences between each leg of the tour.

Main set

[edit]
U2 performs "City of Blinding Lights" in their home town of Dublin in June 2005.

Prior to the band taking the stage, "Wake Up" by Canadian rock band Arcade Fire was played as introduction music.[10] The arena shows of the first and third legs usually began with the same trio of songs: "City of Blinding Lights", "Vertigo", and "Elevation". On the first leg, "City of Blinding Lights" would alternate with "Love and Peace or Else", and sometimes "Beautiful Day" appeared in the opening trio. In contrast, the stadium concerts of the second leg opened with "Vertigo", "I Will Follow", and "The Electric Co.", though "I Will Follow's" position was occasionally occupied by other songs. By the fourth leg, "City of Blinding Lights", "Vertigo" and "Elevation" were the standard opening trio that was only altered once – early on in the fourth leg. After the opening trio, songs from U2's early days were played at the arena shows, while the stadium shows featured more anthemic rock songs. "New Year's Day", "Until the End of the World", "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", and "Miracle Drug" were examples of songs that often appeared in the main set. Beyond this point in the set list, the stadium and indoor sets became roughly similar. "Sometimes You Can't Make it on Your Own" was played at every show as a tribute to Bono's father. There was then a sequence of politically based songs (usually "Love and Peace or Else", "Sunday Bloody Sunday", and "Bullet the Blue Sky"), based around the theme of "Coexist" (written to show a Muslim Crescent, Jewish Star of David, and Christian Cross). Later, with flags of African nations displayed on the screens, "Where the Streets Have No Name" followed "Pride (In the Name of Love)". This led to a plea from Bono to participate in the ONE Campaign, while the opening of "One" played.[citation needed]

Encores

[edit]
"The Fly" performed on the opening night of the European leg at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels on 10 June 2005.

The encores varied from leg to leg, and night to night. The first encore was frequently a musical and visual look back to U2's Zoo TV Tour, usually featuring "Zoo Station", "The Fly", and "Mysterious Ways". However, for many shows on the third leg, this was discarded in favor of an acoustic encore. The second encore often showcased recent material, and almost all second-leg shows as well as rare first and third-leg shows ended with a repeat of "Vertigo", in homage to U2's early concert days when they would run out of songs to play. The usual concert finisher in the first leg was "40" where Adam and Edge would switch instruments, but over the course of the tour, many other closing songs would be used as well.

At the start of the much-delayed fifth leg in Australia, the usual first Zoo TV-style encore was used initially, but several shows into the leg "Zoo Station" was dropped in favour of "Mysterious Ways" with "The Fly" opening the encore, making the first encore "The Fly", "Mysterious Ways" and "With or Without You". The second encore, however, showcased three songs that had not been played until this point on the entire tour. "The Saints Are Coming" was played, following U2 and Green Day's using it to reopen the Louisiana Superdome. Up next was a full electric performance of "Angel of Harlem". Making its Vertigo Tour debut and closing a show for the first time ever was "Kite", which had not been played since the end of the Elevation Tour five years prior. "Kite" was accompanied by a didgeridoo and the show ended with Bono releasing a kite from one of the B-Stages. During the band's second show in Auckland, "One Tree Hill" replaced "Kite" as the show closer. The encore of the final concert of the tour in Honolulu included "The Saints Are Coming" featuring Billie Joe Armstrong, "Window in the Skies", and Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World" featuring Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready. The tour ended with the song "All I Want Is You".[11]

Diversity of material played

[edit]
The Edge plays "Electric Co." in Pittsburgh in October 2005; the song had been a staple of the band's live act in the early 1980s, but had not been played in 17 years.

The Vertigo Tour was notable not only for its diversity of material—it was the first tour since the Lovetown Tour to feature at least one song from each of their currently released albums—but for the rarity of some songs played. "The Ocean" had not been performed since December 1982. Tracks from their debut album Boy were chosen ahead of tracks from their biggest-selling album, The Joshua Tree. A number of other songs returned to the set list after absences of more than fifteen years, including material from October, while "The First Time", from 1993's Zooropa album, was played in full live for the first time. "Miss Sarajevo", a song from U2's side project Original Soundtracks No. 1, became a concert regular despite previously only being played live twice since its release in 1995. Although Luciano Pavarotti sang the operatic vocals on the original, "Miss Sarajevo" featured Bono competently singing the operatic vocals. Also, "Discothèque", from 1997's Pop album, made its final two appearances. The Vertigo Tour has also featured Larry Mullen, Jr. on vocals on "Elevation", "Miracle Drug" and "Love and Peace or Else". All but two songs ("A Man and a Woman" and "One Step Closer") from How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb were performed on the tour. "Fast Cars", a bonus track on some countries' editions of the album, was also performed. "Walk On", the Grammy Award-winning song from All That You Can't Leave Behind, was played only sparingly on the tour, and barring performances in Brisbane and Sydney, was played in stripped-back acoustic form. Also "Bad", which was a regular on the Elevation Tour playlist, was played less frequently on this tour.[12]

Concert filming

[edit]

Two nights of the band's four-night engagement in Chicago, Illinois in May 2005 were filmed for the live DVD Vertigo 2005: Live From Chicago. During the European stadium leg of the Vertigo Tour in the summer of 2005, four more concerts were filmed: two in Dublin and two in Milan. Songs from the Milan shows were featured in a band profile on 60 Minutes and on U2.COMmunication. Ten songs performed at the Milan concert appeared as a special edition bonus DVD in U2's November 2006 compilation album U218 Singles. The 20 February 2006 show in São Paulo, Brazil was broadcast live by Rede Globo.[13] Additionally, 700 hours of footage from seven Latin American concerts were filmed in 3D HD for the film U2 3D, released in 2008 in Real D Cinemas.[14] On 18 and 19 November, additional U2 3D filming was done at the Melbourne concerts at Telstra Dome, as additional shots of the stage's LED display and the concert audience were needed.[15]

Support acts

[edit]

Support slots were taken up by Ash, Arcade Fire, Athlete, Dashboard Confessional, Feeder, Franz Ferdinand, Interpol, Kanye West, Keane, The Killers, Kings of Leon (U.S. leg only), Scissor Sisters, Snow Patrol, Starsailor (Cardiff only), Paddy Casey (Dublin only), Razorlight, Pearl Jam (Honolulu only) and The Zutons.

Reception

[edit]

Like its predecessor, the Vertigo Tour was a commercial success, ranking as the top-earning tour of 2005 with US$260 million grossed.[16] In North America alone, the tour grossed $138.9 million from 1.4 million tickets sold.[17] The Vertigo Tour won the 2005 Billboard Roadwork Touring Awards for Top Tour, Top Draw, and Top Single Event, and U2's management company Principle Management won for Top Manager.[18] By the time it finished, the Vertigo Tour had sold 4,619,021 tickets from 131 shows, and became the second-highest-grossing concert tour with $389 million earned.[19] It was bested only by The Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang Tour, which took place at roughly the same time but was longer overall.

Ticket presale controversy

[edit]

The band's website, U2.com, was involved in a ticket presale controversy that upset fans. Users who paid $40 for a subscription to U2.com were promised the opportunity to purchase tickets in a presale that preceded any general public ticket sales.[20] However, many fans were unable to purchase tickets, as technical glitches plagued the presale.[20] Additionally, many scalpers had taken advantage of the system by subscribing to U2.com and purchasing as many tickets as possible, with the intentions of selling them for profit.[20] Larry Mullen, Jr. apologized on behalf of the band at the Grammy Awards.

Tour dates

[edit]
List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, opening act, tickets sold, number of available tickets and amount of gross revenue
Date City Country Venue Opening act Attendance Revenue
North America[21]
March 28, 2005 San Diego United States iPayOne Center Kings of Leon 29,140 / 29,140 $2,909,029
March 30, 2005
April 1, 2005 Anaheim Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim 33,535 / 33,535 $3,454,198
April 2, 2005
April 5, 2005 Los Angeles Staples Center 34,527 / 34,527 $3,673,850
April 6, 2005
April 9, 2005 San Jose HP Pavilion 36,140 / 36,140 $3,357,098
April 10, 2005
April 14, 2005 Glendale Glendale Arena 34,905 / 34,905 $3,198,861
April 15, 2005
April 20, 2005 Denver Pepsi Center 36,714 / 36,714 $3,509,741
April 21, 2005
April 24, 2005 Seattle KeyArena 30,251 / 30,251 $3,105,754
April 25, 2005
April 28, 2005 Vancouver Canada General Motors Place 37,031 / 37,031 $3,020,466
April 29, 2005
May 7, 2005 Chicago United States United Center 77,173 / 77,173 $7,541,679
May 9, 2005
May 10, 2005
May 12, 2005
May 14, 2005 Philadelphia Wachovia Center 39,273 / 39,273 $3,767,178
May 17, 2005 East Rutherford Continental Airlines Arena 40,347 / 40,347 $3,838,066
May 18, 2005
May 21, 2005 New York City Madison Square Garden 18,415 / 18,415 $1,907,086
May 22, 2005 Philadelphia Wachovia Center [a] [a]
May 24, 2005 Boston FleetCenter 51,658 / 51,658 $5,071,565
May 26, 2005
May 28, 2005
Europe[22]
June 10, 2005 Brussels Belgium King Baudouin Stadium The Thrills
Snow Patrol 		60,499 / 60,499 $4,864,554
June 12, 2005 Gelsenkirchen Germany Veltins-Arena The Thrills
Feeder 		59,120 / 59,120 $4,203,947
June 14, 2005 Manchester England City of Manchester Stadium The Bravery
Idlewild
Snow Patrol
Athlete 		107,671 / 107,671 $11,119,740
June 15, 2005
June 18, 2005 London Twickenham Stadium Doves
Idlewild
Athlete
Ash 		110,796 / 110,796 $13,677,410
June 19, 2005
June 21, 2005 Glasgow Scotland Hampden Park Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Interpol 		53,395 / 53,395 $5,819,053
June 24, 2005 Dublin Ireland Croke Park The Radiators
The Thrills
The Bravery
Snow Patrol
Paddy Casey
Ash 		246,743 / 246,743 $21,163,695
June 25, 2005
June 27, 2005
June 29, 2005 Cardiff Wales Millennium Stadium Starsailor
The Killers 		63,677 / 63,677 $6,406,073
July 2, 2005 Vienna Austria Ernst-Happel-Stadion The Thrills
The Magic Numbers 		55,645 / 55,645 $4,200,416
July 5, 2005 Chorzów Poland Stadion Śląski The Killers
The Magic Numbers 		64,711 / 64,711 $3,127,416
July 7, 2005 Berlin Germany Olympiastadion Snow Patrol
Kaiser Chiefs 		70,443 / 70,443 $4,725,530
July 9, 2005 Paris France Stade de France Snow Patrol
Starsailor
The Music 		160,349 / 160,349 $11,822,645
July 10, 2005
July 13, 2005 Amsterdam Netherlands Amsterdam Arena The Killers
Snow Patrol
Kaiser Chiefs
The Music
Athlete 		165,516 / 165,516 $13,022,200
July 15, 2005
July 16, 2005
July 18, 2005 Zürich Switzerland Letzigrund Ash
Feeder 		44,260 / 44,260 $3,574,993
July 20, 2005 Milan Italy Stadio Giuseppe Meazza 137,427 / 137,427 $7,565,264
July 21, 2005
July 23, 2005 Rome Stadio Olimpico 67,002 / 67,002 $4,010,779
July 27, 2005 Oslo Norway Valle Hovin Razorlight
Paddy Casey 		40,000 / 40,000 $3,765,136
July 29, 2005 Gothenburg Sweden Ullevi Razorlight
The Soundtrack of Our Lives 		58,478 / 58,478 $4,081,864
July 31, 2005 Copenhagen Denmark Parken Stadium 50,000 / 50,000 $3,650,294
August 3, 2005 Munich Germany Olympiastadion Keane
The Zutons 		77,435 / 77,435 $5,343,379
August 5, 2005 Nice France Stade Charles-Ehrmann 51,900 / 51,900 $3,548,702
August 7, 2005 Barcelona Spain Camp Nou Kaiser Chiefs
Keane 		81,269 / 81,269 $5,130,437
August 9, 2005 San Sebastián Estadio Anoeta Franz Ferdinand
Kaiser Chiefs 		43,720 / 43,720 $2,936,571
August 11, 2005 Madrid Vicente Calderón Stadium 57,040 / 57,040 $3,679,354
August 14, 2005 Lisbon Portugal Estádio José Alvalade Kaiser Chiefs
Keane 		55,362 / 55,362 $4,492,762
North America[23]
September 12, 2005 Toronto Canada Air Canada Centre Dashboard Confessional 82,572 / 82,572 $7,624,870
September 14, 2005
September 16, 2005
September 17, 2005
September 20, 2005 Chicago United States United Center 38,815 / 38,815 $3,795,583
September 21, 2005
September 23, 2005 Minneapolis Target Center 19,328 / 19,328 $1,823,883
September 25, 2005 Milwaukee Bradley Center 19,336 / 19,336 $1,782,895
October 3, 2005 Boston TD Banknorth Garden Keane 34,488 / 34,488 $3,381,429
October 4, 2005
October 7, 2005 New York City Madison Square Garden 93,275 / 93,275 $9,658,009
October 8, 2005
October 10, 2005
October 11, 2005
October 14, 2005
October 16, 2005 Philadelphia Wachovia Center Damian Marley 39,905 / 39,905 $3,773,053
October 17, 2005
October 19, 2005 Washington, D.C. MCI Center 38,181 / 38,181 $3,902,569
October 20, 2005
October 22, 2005 Pittsburgh Mellon Arena 16,899 / 16,899 $1,636,798
October 24, 2005 Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills Institute 41,379 / 41,379 $3,951,103
October 25, 2005
October 28, 2005 Houston Toyota Center Damian Marley 17,002 / 17,002 $1,652,699
October 29, 2005 Dallas American Airlines Center 17,988 / 17,988 $1,689,471
November 1, 2005 Los Angeles Staples Center 34,291 / 34,291 $3,656,978
November 2, 2005
November 4, 2005 Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena 31,863 / 31,863 $3,864,843
November 5, 2005
November 8, 2005 Oakland Oakland Arena 36,340 / 36,340 $3,638,620
November 9, 2005
November 13, 2005 Miami American Airlines Arena Institute 37,354 / 37,354 $3,589,942
November 14, 2005
November 16, 2005 Tampa St. Pete Times Forum 19,354 / 19,354 $1,825,243
November 18, 2005 Atlanta Philips Arena 36,334 / 36,334 $3,500,572
November 19, 2005
November 21, 2005 New York City Madison Square Garden Patti Smith 37,314 / 37,314 $3,859,828
November 22, 2005
November 25, 2005 Ottawa Canada Corel Centre Arcade Fire 18,647 / 18,647 $1,486,710
November 26, 2005 Montreal Bell Centre 43,294 / 43,294 $3,575,491
November 28, 2005
December 4, 2005 Boston United States TD Banknorth Garden Institute 34,583 / 34,583 $3,400,861
December 5, 2005
December 7, 2005 Hartford Hartford Civic Center 16,165 / 16,165 $1,542,471
December 9, 2005 Buffalo HSBC Arena 18,826 / 18,826 $1,711,094
December 10, 2005 Cleveland Quicken Loans Arena 19,765 / 19,765 $1,791,497
December 12, 2005 Charlotte Charlotte Bobcats Arena 17,804 / 17,804 $1,672,440
December 14, 2005 St. Louis Savvis Center Kanye West 19,923 / 19,923 $1,839,020
December 15, 2005 Omaha Qwest Center Omaha 16,134 / 16,134 $1,500,834
December 17, 2005 Salt Lake City Delta Center 18,197 / 18,197 $1,709,317
December 19, 2005 Portland Rose Garden Arena 18,233 / 18,233 $1,670,879
Latin America[24]
February 12, 2006 Monterrey Mexico Estadio Tecnológico Secret Machines 50,347 / 50,347 $4,504,026
February 15, 2006 Mexico City Estadio Azteca 141,278 / 141,278 $10,257,284
February 16, 2006
February 20, 2006 São Paulo Brazil Morumbi Stadium Franz Ferdinand 149,700 / 149,700 $11,682,557
February 21, 2006
February 26, 2006 Santiago Chile Estadio Nacional 77,345 / 77,345 $5,000,589
March 1, 2006 Buenos Aires Argentina River Plate Stadium 150,424 / 150,424 $6,966,821
March 2, 2006
Pacific[25][26]
November 7, 2006 Brisbane Australia Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre Kanye West 53,480 / 53,480 $1,253,964
November 10, 2006 Sydney Telstra Stadium 206,568 / 206,568 $18,538,724
November 11, 2006
November 13, 2006
November 16, 2006 Adelaide AAMI Stadium 60,000 / 60,000 $5,058,962
November 18, 2006 Melbourne Telstra Dome 127,275 / 127,275 $11,188,720
November 19, 2006
November 24, 2006 Auckland New Zealand Ericsson Stadium 84,475 / 84,475 $6,216,819
November 25, 2006
November 29, 2006 Saitama Japan Saitama Super Arena — 57,158 / 57,158 $6,096,855
November 30, 2006
December 4, 2006
December 9, 2006 Honolulu United States Aloha Stadium Pearl Jam
Rocco and the Devils 		45,815 / 45,815 $4,486,532
Total 4,619,021 / 4,619,021 (100%) $389,047,636

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Vertigo Tour

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
The Vertigo Tour was a worldwide by the Irish rock band , launched to promote their eleventh studio album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Spanning from March 28, 2005, to May 2006, it encompassed five legs across , , , and , with performances in both arenas and . The tour featured 131 sold-out shows that attracted approximately 4.6 million spectators and generated gross revenues of $389 million, establishing it as one of U2's most financially successful outings and the highest-grossing tour of 2005 with $260 million from that year alone. Innovative staging elements, including an elliptical catwalk for indoor arena dates and large-scale video screens for outdoor stadium concerts, enhanced the production's visual and immersive qualities. The setlists emphasized tracks from the new album alongside staples from U2's catalog, contributing to critical acclaim for the tour's energy and spectacle.

Background and Conception

Album Context and Promotion

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, U2's eleventh studio album, was released on November 22, 2004, serving as the primary catalyst for the Vertigo Tour's conception and execution. The record debuted at number one on the chart, achieving 840,000 units sold in its first week in the United States, which represented the largest opening week for any U2 album and underscored the band's renewed commercial viability following a period of stylistic experimentation. This sales performance, driven by strong pre-release buzz and distributor efforts, established empirical momentum that justified an extensive arena and stadium tour to capitalize on audience demand. Promotional efforts for the album centered on the "Vertigo," released on September 23, 2004, which featured a high-energy filmed in and integrated into Apple's iPod advertising campaign to amplify visibility. "Vertigo" secured three in February 2005—Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, Best Rock Song, and Best Short Form —elevating the album's profile and directly fueling tour anticipation through televised performances and media saturation. These accolades and cross-promotions, including television appearances, positioned the album as a rock revival statement, linking its success to live event hype without delving into electronic detours from prior works like Pop. U2's promotional strategy emphasized a return to core rock elements after the electronic influences in late-1990s releases, aiming to reengage fans via straightforward anthems suited for mass live spectacles. This shift, evident in How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb's guitar-driven tracks, prioritized broad accessibility over niche experimentation, setting the stage for the Vertigo Tour's focus on high-capacity venues to convert recorded success into experiential revenue. The album's pre-tour rollout, including limited promotional gigs, methodically built toward the March 2005 launch, ensuring logistical readiness aligned with peak public interest.

Tour Planning and Objectives

U2 announced the Vertigo Tour on January 24, 2005, scheduling an initial North American leg to commence in late , with the primary objectives of bolstering sales of their recently released album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb by showcasing new material in live settings and interspersing it with classic songs to engage both longtime fans and newer audiences. Venue selections prioritized arenas with capacities ranging from 15,000 to 20,000 seats, informed by attendance data and audience response from the preceding (2001), which had successfully demonstrated heightened demand for configurations enabling closer proximity between performers and spectators over larger stadium formats. This approach reflected a strategic shift toward a "back-to-basics" production philosophy, motivated by persistent fan critiques of the excessive technological spectacle and thematic distractions in prior outings like the Zoo TV Tour (1992–1993) and (1997–1998), which had diluted focus on core musical delivery; instead, planning stressed authenticity and intimacy to recapture essential fanbase energy, as explained: "We wanted to strip it back, make it about the music and the audience, not the spectacle."

Production Elements

Stage Design and Layout

The Vertigo Tour's stage design centered on an elliptical structure, often referred to as the "Ellipse," which facilitated 360-degree access for the band and enhanced audience visibility from multiple angles. This setup included a central oval video screen and a catwalk system extending into the crowd, allowing performers to engage fans surrounding the stage on both inner and outer perimeters. The design prioritized engineering feasibility, with the outdoor stadium version measuring 60 meters long, 23 meters high, and 20 meters deep, constructed from 13 modular steel trailers for efficient assembly and transport. In contrast to elaborate prior tours like PopMart, which featured oversized props such as a 40-foot , the Vertigo stage adopted simpler aesthetics focused on functionality and LED screens displaying visuals aligned with the How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb album's . The elliptical layout optimized sightlines for venues accommodating over 20,000 attendees, enabling immersive experiences without excessive structural complexity. Adaptations distinguished indoor arena configurations from outdoor stadium setups; indoor shows employed a more intimate, stripped-down stage with protruding elements and light curtains for visual effects, while outdoor versions incorporated a curved behind the main stage and extended arms projecting into the audience for broader reach. These modifications addressed venue-specific constraints, including potential weather disruptions in open-air performances, drawing from logistical lessons of previous tours.

Lighting and Technical Gear

The Vertigo Tour employed advanced LED-based lighting integrated with video elements to create dynamic , utilizing Barco's custom MiSPHERE comprising over 12,000 spherical LED modules daisy-chained into 189 strings that formed seven retractable curtains. Each MiSPHERE functioned as an individual with 360-degree viewing angles and light-diffusing , enabling the of expansive lighting washes and mood transitions synced to musical cues, such as the high-energy visuals accompanying "Vertigo" and "." This hybrid approach allowed for pre-programmed sequences that shifted atmospheres efficiently, leveraging the low power consumption inherent to LED fixtures compared to traditional incandescent or discharge lamps prevalent in earlier tours. Supplementary LED rings were embedded within the stage floor and the elliptical video screen, providing concentric illumination that amplified intimacy and visual depth without substantial additional energy demands. Video and lighting synchronization was managed via five Barco Folsom Encore processors, which handled source selection, windowing, and seamless switching across the LED arrays and projections from four Barco RLM G5 and four G10 projectors. The modular nature of the MiSPHERE system facilitated reliable operation across 131 shows, minimizing downtime through redundant data pathways and contributing to streamlined load-in and load-out processes typical of arena-scale productions. While U2's , including lighting designer Willie Williams, emphasized technological innovation, the empirical focus on LED scalability underscored practical efficiency over unsubstantiated environmental claims, with the gear's design prioritizing output per watt to sustain high-impact effects in diverse venues from March 2005 to November 2006. No major lighting-specific failures were documented in tour reports, reflecting robust engineering that supported consistent delivery of synchronized cues essential for the tour's rock-oriented dynamics.

Crew and Logistical Challenges

The Vertigo Tour's production relied on a core team of long-term collaborators, including show designer and director Willie Williams, who oversaw visual and staging elements, and sound designer Joe O'Herlihy, responsible for audio systems and front-of-house mixing. Williams, working with architect , integrated large-scale LED screens and lighting rigs into the stage layout, while O'Herlihy managed complex sound reinforcement for environments. This team coordinated a touring crew numbering over 100 personnel, handling setup and teardown for 131 shows across , , and beyond, with equipment transported via fleets of trucks for regional legs and container ships for transatlantic crossings. Logistical operations faced pressures from elevated fuel prices in 2005, driven by supply disruptions including , which increased transportation costs for diesel-dependent trucking but did not result in any show postponements or cancellations. Crew movements and gear shipments required meticulous scheduling to align with venue availability, navigating customs and border protocols without reported visa delays specific to the production staff. The tour's scale—spanning multiple continents with rapid turnarounds—demanded precise inventory tracking and on-site assembly, underscoring the operational rigor needed for consistent execution amid variable and infrastructure differences. Post-9/11 security enhancements shaped protocols, with heightened venue screenings, personnel vetting, and risk assessments for high-profile events amid ongoing terrorism threats, including the July bombings during the European leg. These measures, standard for major acts by , involved coordination with local authorities and private firms to protect the crew, band, and audiences, prioritizing threat intelligence integration without disrupting the itinerary's 4.6 million attendees.

Itinerary and Execution

North American and European Legs

The North American leg of the Vertigo Tour began on March 28, 2005, at the in , , marking the first of 44 arena shows across the continent through May. These performances primarily utilized indoor venues with capacities ranging from 15,000 to 20,000, drawing strong initial attendance amid high ticket demand that prompted presale extensions and additional dates announced in early March. The leg concluded in , at Continental Airlines Arena on May 14, with the tour's arena format allowing for intimate production elements while grossing significantly in key markets like and . Following a brief hiatus, the European leg shifted to outdoor stadiums starting June 10, 2005, at in , , accommodating larger crowds in venues exceeding 50,000 capacity. Highlights included two nights at in on June 18 and 19, each attracting approximately 70,000 attendees, demonstrating the band's draw in major markets and contributing to rapid sellouts across the continent. The summer run, spanning 25 shows through August, featured stadiums like Munich's Olympiastadion, which hosted 77,435 fans on August 3, and emphasized logistical efficiency through sequenced routing from eastward. Demand metrics from these legs, including near-universal sellouts and figures placing the tour atop Billboard's 2005 rankings with over $260 million gross and more than three million attendees for the year, informed subsequent adjustments such as venue upgrades from arenas to stadiums where feasible and avoidance of excessive show counts to prevent band fatigue observed in prior tours. This data-driven approach ensured sustained performance quality without overextension, setting the stage for further international expansions based on empirical success indicators rather than speculative projections.

Global Extensions and Adjustments

Following the completion of the primary North American and European legs in 2005, extended the Vertigo Tour to in February 2006, targeting regions with demonstrated high demand through pre-sale data and fan engagement metrics indicating untapped revenue potential exceeding initial projections for those markets. Performances included two sold-out concerts at in on February 15 and 16, each accommodating approximately 87,000 attendees amid the venue's high-altitude environment of 2,240 meters, where performers managed physiological demands through prior acclimatization protocols standard for such conditions. The leg continued to on February 20 at , drawing over 60,000 fans, with subsequent shows in the region—such as multiple dates in aggregating more than 250,000 attendees—validating the expansion via rapid sell-outs and local promoter reports of overwhelming ticket uptake. The Pacific extension, originally slated for March-April 2006 in , , , and , was postponed on due to Bono's complications requiring extended recovery, prioritizing performer sustainability over rigid scheduling to mitigate risks of performance degradation or further medical issues. Rescheduling was announced on July 20, shifting dates to November-December while adding select shows based on reassessed demand, such as three performances at Stadium on November 10, 11, and 13, each selling out capacities of around 80,000. This adjustment maintained operational pragmatism, as evidenced by the retention of over 90% of original ticket holders through honored transfers, with refunds available only for conflicts, leading to full capacities on rescheduled dates without significant revenue loss. Local adaptations emphasized empirical , including venue-specific for Australian stadiums to accommodate weather variability and the band's recovery timeline, ensuring consistent energy delivery as confirmed by post-show reviews and parity with prior legs. These extensions underscored a data-responsive approach, extending only where projected per-show grosses aligned with tour averages of approximately $2-3 million, derived from earlier legs' performance.

Musical and Performance Aspects

Set List Composition

The set lists during the Vertigo Tour averaged 23 to 25 songs per performance, structured around a main set followed by two encores, with selections emphasizing U2's established hits from albums such as and alongside 6 to 8 tracks from the promoted album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. This composition drew from fan-compiled databases tracking all 133 documented shows, revealing a core of frequently played staples like "," "," "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," and "Pride (In the Name of Love)" to anchor the sequence. Concerts opened uniformly with "" from How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, transitioning into the high-octane "Vertigo" and "" to generate immediate momentum, a pattern observed in over 130 set lists. The main set then progressed through mid-tempo rockers and anthems, incorporating new material such as "Miracle Drug," "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own," "All Because of You," and "Original of the Species," while limiting deeper catalog explorations to tracks like "The Electric Co." or "The Ocean" for variety without disrupting familiarity. This ratio—roughly 70% classics to 30% recent releases—sustained pacing by alternating energetic peaks with mid-set lulls, as evidenced by consistent play counts exceeding 100 instances for core hits across the tour. The first encore typically featured "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "One," escalating to communal sing-alongs, before the second encore culminated in "With or Without You" and a closing rendition of "40," fostering a descent from intensity to communal reflection. This bifurcated encore format, rooted in U2's prior touring evolutions, prioritized emotional layering over exhaustive novelty, with "40" serving as the finale in the majority of shows to evoke closure through its a cappella fade-out.

Variations and Song Diversity

Across the 131 shows of the Vertigo Tour, performed 60 unique songs, drawn from 16 albums and including covers and snippets, which enabled deviations from a core setlist structure. Rarities highlighted this breadth, such as the live debut of from the 2004 album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, played 100 times mostly in encores, and sporadic returns of from Boy (1980) in specific venues. Other infrequent inclusions encompassed "Discotheque," "The First Time," and "40," appearing in fewer than 20 shows each based on performance logs. Regional tailoring influenced selections, as evidenced in the three Dublin performances at Croke Park in June 2005, where early tracks like "" (from , 1981) and "An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart" (from ) were inserted—their only appearances on the European leg—aligning with audience familiarity in Ireland. Similar adjustments occurred elsewhere, such as "The Fly" and "Zoo Station" in North American shows, prioritizing tracks with established regional appeal over uniform repetition. Setlist evolution between legs countered claims of rigidity; for instance, the North American opener in March 2005 emphasized new material like "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own," while later extensions incorporated legacy rarities such as "Bad" extensions into "The First Time." Although some attendee reviews described segments as "too scripted and predictable," aggregate data from show archives documents substantive changes, including song swaps and order shifts, across the tour's phases. This adaptability, quantified by varying performance frequencies (e.g., "Vertigo" in all 131 shows versus "Fast Cars" in one), sustained engagement without disrupting core hits.

Live Arrangements and Band Dynamics

The live arrangements for the Vertigo Tour amplified the instrumental textures of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb tracks to project across arena and stadium environments, diverging from studio precision to harness collective venue acoustics. The Edge's guitar work, centered on modulated delay effects, received heightened emphasis in songs like "Vertigo," where long, ambient repeats expanded the riff's raw into a spatially dominant force, enhancing perceived energy through echoed layering absent in the album's controlled mixes. This adaptation preserved the track's visceral punch while scaling it for mass immersion, as the delays' modulation interacted dynamically with crowd . Bono's vocal execution contended with endurance limits during sustained high-energy passages, including falsetto extensions that risked strain over the tour's 131 dates. Performances incorporated pacing strategies, such as interleaving ballads with uptempo numbers, to sustain output across typical show durations of 120 to 150 minutes, thereby diluting fatigue's impact on later segments. Early legs showcased peak vocal clarity, with later phases revealing adaptive modulations to conserve range amid accumulated tour wear. Emerging from a touring hiatus since 1998, U2's onstage interplay emphasized raw , manifesting in ad-libbed extensions and rhythmic dialogues that favored over studio . These improvisational elements, particularly in mid-set builds, amplified band cohesion and , channeling post-rehearsal chemistry into performances that prioritized emergent intensity. Such dynamics underscored a causal shift toward live-centric , where group responsiveness supplanted prefabricated arrangements to sustain tour-long momentum.

Media Coverage and Recordings

Concert Filming Efforts

Professional crews, directed by , recorded multiple performances during the Vertigo Tour's North American leg, including four shows at the in , , in early May 2005, to compile footage for live video projects. These efforts focused on capturing the band's high-energy delivery, with one selected night coinciding with Bono's 45th birthday on May 10. In , filming extended to a single concert at Stadium in , , on July 21, 2005, employing similar multi-camera configurations to document the stadium-scale production. To enhance archival depth without major audience interference, supplementary surveillance footage was obtained using four remote-controlled black-and-white cameras positioned for alternative perspectives on the stage action. The tour's later phases incorporated pioneering 3D filming across seven international dates, deploying an unprecedented array of cameras for synchronized multi-angle capture, including close-ups and overhead audience sweeps, amid the logistical demands of integrating experimental technology into live and environments. These initiatives prioritized with strong production infrastructure, such as Chicago's indoor and Milan's outdoor , to facilitate comprehensive 360-degree coverage while adhering to protocols that limited additional and visibility to preserve the standard experience.

Released Media and Broadcasts

Vertigo 2005: Live from , a documenting U2's performances at the in on May 9 and 10, 2005, was released on DVD by on November 14, 2005. The two-disc set features 23 songs drawn from the band's catalog, including tracks from How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb alongside earlier hits like "Electric Co." and "40," with a bonus disc containing a on the tour's production. A companion release, Vertigo 05: Live from Milan, captured ten songs from the July 21, 2005, concert at Stadium and was bundled as a bonus DVD with the deluxe edition of U2's compilation, issued on November 20, 2006. U2's set at the benefit concert in London's Hyde Park on July 2, 2005—timed during the European leg—aired live via and other networks worldwide, including performances of "Vertigo" and three other tracks, with footage later incorporated into official compilations. Post-2010 digital efforts include streaming availability of the Chicago concert on platforms like Netflix, where it presents the full set in its edited form. In November 2024, a 4K remaster of the Chicago show was livestreamed on YouTube to promote the reissue of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, garnering views reflective of ongoing fan engagement without new archival content.

Support Acts and Collaborations

Commercial Performance

Attendance and Revenue Figures

The Vertigo Tour consisted of 131 concerts performed between March 2005 and December 2006. These shows attracted a total of 4,619,021 attendees, with capacities ranging from arenas holding approximately 15,000 to stadiums accommodating up to 50,000 spectators. The tour generated gross revenue of $389 million USD, establishing it as one of the highest-earning concert tours prior to U2's 360° Tour in 2009-2011. This figure reflects an average per-show gross of roughly $2.97 million, driven by sell-out crowds in major markets without reliance on public subsidies or promotional incentives.
MetricValue
Total Shows131
Total Attendance4,619,021
Total Gross Revenue$389 million USD
Average Attendance per Show~35,267
Average Gross per Show~$2.97 million USD
European legs yielded the highest revenues, benefiting from large capacities and strong regional demand, while North American dates contributed $138.9 million from 1.4 million tickets sold across 43 shows. The tour's financial performance underscored U2's pricing power and fan loyalty, with 2005 alone accounting for $260 million in grosses from 90 concerts and over 3 million attendees.

Ticket Sales and Market Data

The U2.com presale for the Vertigo Tour, accessible to subscribers who paid a $40 annual fee for priority access, encountered significant technical issues due to overwhelming demand on January 25, 2005, resulting in many fans securing suboptimal seats or failing to purchase tickets altogether. Public onsale periods shortly thereafter saw rapid sellouts, with approximately 370,000 tickets for 21 North American arena dates exhausted within a weekend in late January and early February 2005. By early February 2005, cumulative sales across initial North American and European dates exceeded 600,000 tickets, underscoring strong initial demand driven by the band's established fanbase. Ticket pricing employed a tiered structure rather than real-time dynamic adjustments, with face values ranging from $49.50 for general admission or upper-level seats to $165 for premium lower-level positions, averaging around $90 per ticket in the United States. This approach allocated lower-priced tickets to and general sales while reserving higher tiers for broader distribution, reflecting to balance accessibility and revenue capture. On the , premiums for high-demand dates frequently reached 300-400% above , as evidenced by tickets resold for up to $800 apiece despite primary prices capping at $160, illustrating robust consumer in excess of official rates amid limited supply. Such markups aligned with broader patterns for major acts, where average premiums hovered around one-third but spiked higher for peak venues, signaling efficient in response to unmet primary demand rather than systemic barriers to access. Sellout velocities exhibited regional disparities tied to , economic factors, and historical fan penetration; North American arenas depleted inventory within days of public sale, while European stadium dates similarly achieved quick capacity, but initial Australian legs required additional shows to meet demand, with 250,000 tickets moved across four cities including sellouts in and . These patterns correlated with higher GDP and U2's denser North American and European followings, contrasting with comparatively slower uptake in less saturated markets like , where extra dates were announced to accommodate interest.

Reception and Analysis

Critical Reviews and Achievements

The Vertigo Tour received widespread acclaim from music critics for revitalizing U2's live performances with a raw, rock-oriented energy that contrasted with the elaborate spectacle of prior tours like Zoo TV and PopMart. Reviewers frequently commended the band's return to a more stripped-down production, featuring an elliptical catwalk that facilitated intimate audience engagement and emphasized the immediacy of songs from How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, such as "Vertigo" and "City of Blinding Lights." This setup was seen as a deliberate pivot to musical fundamentals, allowing the group's instrumentation—particularly The Edge's guitar work and Larry Mullen Jr.'s driving drums—to take precedence over thematic multimedia overloads. While aggregate critic ratings for live tours were not formalized like album metacritics, professional assessments typically hovered in the high positive range, with outlets noting the tour's in recapturing the urgency of U2's early phase. Praise often centered on Bono's commanding charisma and narrative interludes tying performances to global themes, though some observers argued this overshadowed subtler contributions from and limited setlist experimentation relative to the band's experimental era. Such critiques suggested that the tour's appeal derived partly from familiar anthems and star power rather than wholesale innovation in arrangement or staging. Empirically, the tour's achievements were anchored in quantifiable metrics of scale and financial performance. It ranked as the highest-grossing concert tour of 2005, amassing over $260 million in ticket revenue across 118 shows attended by more than 3 million spectators worldwide. Billboard honored it with Touring Awards for Top Tour, Top Draw (reflecting highest average attendance), and Top Boxoffice, validations rooted in verified box office data rather than subjective artistry. These accolades underscored the tour's commercial dominance, driven by strategic arena and stadium bookings that maximized capacity without relying on unprecedented production costs.

Fan Perspectives and Experiences

Fans reported high levels of satisfaction with the Vertigo Tour's intimate stage design, which brought the band closer to audiences in arenas and stadiums, enhancing immersion compared to prior spectacle-heavy productions. In fan forums and reviews, many described the elliptical catwalk and proximity as transformative, with setlists blending new material from How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb—such as "Vertigo" and "City of Blinding Lights"—with classics like "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," creating varied, high-energy experiences that left lasting impacts. Some conservative-leaning fans expressed frustration with Bono's mid-concert advocacy for African and initiatives, viewing these interruptions—often tied to the band's campaign—as preachy detours that shifted focus from the music to political lecturing. These segments, including calls for global action, were seen by critics within the fanbase as ideologically intrusive, particularly when they extended show lengths or altered the concert's entertainment priority, though others appreciated the sincerity without endorsing the causes. Repeat attendance was notable among dedicated followers, with personal accounts indicating around one in five fans attending multiple shows per leg, driven more by U2.com perks like pre-sale access than alignment with the band's . High demand evidenced by pre-sales—despite technical glitches—fostered this pattern, reflecting commitment to the tour's musical execution over extraneous elements.

Controversies and Criticisms

The presale for the Vertigo Tour's North American leg on January 25, 2005, encountered severe technical difficulties when the U2.com-ticketed platform, requiring a $40 annual membership for priority access, crashed under high demand, preventing many subscribers from purchasing tickets. Fans reported repeated "internal server error" messages on Ticketmaster's site, resulting in suboptimal seating or no tickets for those who paid for , while quickly resold general admission floor seats—intended for $50—at markups exceeding $1,000 on secondary markets like . drummer Larry Mullen issued a public apology on February 4, 2005, acknowledging distribution errors beyond the band's control but admitting the process favored some fans unfairly, which fueled widespread outrage and calls for refunds. Bono's onstage advocacy during Vertigo Tour performances, including pleas for African debt relief and anti-poverty initiatives tied to his organization, drew criticism from segments of the audience who viewed them as preachy distractions from , especially given the band's multimillion-dollar earnings from the tour. Bandmates expressed internal concerns that such risked overshadowing U2's artistic output, with guitarist and others reportedly fretting it could "wipe out" their music career, as Bono revealed in a January 2006 interview. Conservative-leaning fans and commentators accused the interludes of virtue-signaling , prompting isolated boycotts and online backlash against what they saw as elite lecturing on global issues while charging premium prices. Certain shows faced complaints over acoustic segments on the B-stage, perceived by some attendees as diminishing the high-energy rock edge expected from U2's arena production, alongside occasional technical glitches like delayed starts and sound echoes in larger venues such as on June 21, 2005. These issues, including equipment failures that extended setup times, contributed to perceptions of inflated production costs not always translating to consistent quality, though they were minor compared to the tour's overall execution.

Legacy and Influence

Impact on U2's Touring Evolution

The financial success of the Vertigo Tour, which grossed over $260 million from more than 3 million attendees across 131 shows, provided with the capital to pursue more ambitious productions in subsequent tours, notably enabling the shift to exclusively larger stadium venues for the 360° Tour (2009–2011). This evolution reflected pragmatic scaling of spectacle, as the revenue data demonstrated the viability of investing in massive infrastructure like the 360° Tour's 164-foot-tall "claw" stage, the largest ever constructed at the time, designed for 360-degree audience access in stadiums seating tens of thousands. Elements of Vertigo's stage design, including the elliptical ramp and innovative LED visuals such as the 360-degree MiSPHERE projections, influenced the retention and expansion of immersive screening in future tours, though the 360° production escalated costs dramatically to support such features at unprecedented scale. Critics noted that this progression toward ever-larger setups signaled potential , with the claw's construction expenses highlighting the financial risks of prioritizing spectacle over efficiency, even as it grossed $736 million. The tour's grueling schedule of 131 performances underscored the physical toll of extended runs, preempting later challenges for the band, particularly Bono's 2010 emergency spinal surgery for a herniated disc and compression, which delayed the 360° Tour's start. This incident, occurring amid preparations for the next major outing, evidenced how Vertigo's intensity contributed to cumulative fatigue, prompting more cautious pacing in U2's touring strategy thereafter.

Cultural and Industry Significance

The Vertigo Tour advanced industry standards in live production by introducing digital mixing consoles for the first time in U2's touring history, setting a precedent for audio technology adoption across major acts. Its hybrid venue strategy, alternating between North American arenas and international stadiums with tailored staging—including an elliptical catwalk and synchronized video screens—optimized scalability and fan engagement, influencing subsequent tours to blend venue types for maximized revenue potential amid the mid-2000s live music boom where concert revenues climbed from $1.3 billion in 2000 to higher figures by decade's end. This approach highlighted U2's edge over competitors like Madonna's Re-Invention Tour, which grossed comparably but lacked the same venue flexibility. Culturally, the tour intersected with global events through U2's headline performance of "Vertigo" at on July 2, 2005, in London's Hyde Park, an initiative for African that drew worldwide attention and reinforced the band's activist image, though the timing aligned with the tour's North American leg launch, amplifying promotional reach. This synergy extended the tour's footprint beyond commercial metrics, embedding it in discussions of rock's role in social mobilization, even as the event's broadcast to billions provided undeniable visibility for the album and tour. Long-term, the Vertigo Tour solidified U2's commercial viability for legacy acts, topping 2005's grossing charts and countering industry skepticism about sustained arena-filling power for rock bands against emerging pop and hip-hop draws. By achieving over $260 million in grosses across 131 shows, it exemplified strategic pricing and global routing that sustained U2's top-tier status through the , informing a model where veteran performers leveraged spectacle and fan loyalty to dominate amid fragmented markets.

Tour Dates

Performance Schedule Overview

The Vertigo Tour commenced on March 28, 2005, in , , and concluded on December 9, 2006, in , , encompassing a period of approximately 20 months. The itinerary featured five distinct legs, alternating between arena performances in and stadium concerts internationally, with notable intensification during the summer of 2005 for European festival dates and subsequent fall extensions into 2006 across multiple continents. In total, the tour included 131 performances, distributed primarily across with 78 shows (28 in the first leg and 50 in the third), 32 in during the second leg, and the remaining 21 spread over (7), , , and in the fourth and fifth legs. This structure facilitated high-volume scheduling in key markets while incorporating seasonal peaks, such as the June-to-August European stadium run, before transitioning to global extensions in 2006. Detailed itineraries and setlist variations appear in subsequent sections on tour dates.

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