U2 fans noted the Billboard Magazine on July 22 as a possible residency in Las Vegas starting in 2023 by U2 was mentioned. The rumors couldn’t be confirmed by U2 Songs. It’s not the first mention of U2 making plans to return to the road next year, which we have been tracking for some time.
News first broke out earlier this year that crew who typically work the U2 tours had been asked to keep their schedules open from June 2023 onwards. That suggested U2 had plans to tour for next year. The band reportedly had plans to do some outside performances in Europe next year, possibly a stadium tour or Festival appearances.
The outlet reported that U2 had not signed off on the proposed tour plans at that time. It appears that the band may have finally signed off on doing performances next year, and we expect rumours will start to pick up steam from here. Usually the rumours start about a year ahead of the tours.
Willie Williams was reported to recently (last weekend) be in meetings with the band in the South of France to discuss plans for some 2023 performances.
The Billboard article suggests that U2 will be the first band to perform at the new MSG sphere complex in Las Vegas, currently under construction. The article suggests that the band has booked several nights at the venue, stretching over several months, but the shows will not be on consecutive nights during that time. However, neither Billboard nor U2 commented on the matter.
U2 might be doing some bookings
‘U2 Songs’ reported “we’ve been given information about a number of different stadium bookings. A previously reliable source on tour information has shared that Soldier Field has been booked for two shows by U2 for late Summer / early Fall. We’ve been told that the band has also booked a stadium for next summer in Dublin over the last few days. And KROQ radio hinted that an Irish band booked several dates for Sofi stadium for shows in 2023 this week before playing “Where the Streets Have No Name” (Thanks to Monopoly for that information!) Sofi stadium is a new venue, opened in late 2022 in Inglewood, California.”
Although most of the news coverage has been about dates for Vegas at this new Sphere venue (see below), it looks as if U2 are booking up dates in stadiums in both Europe and North America for 2023. There appears to be some tour planning and routing going on behind the scenes.
It appears that the band is looking at European shows in June through early August, and North American shows in late August through November. The Las Vegas Sphere complex is expected to open in late November.
These rumours are about dates that are more than a year away. These are likely preliminary bookings to hold space at this time.
