U2 has unveiled the initial six stops of a major global trek planned for 2027, signaling a return to stadium shows across Latin America and the release of their first entirely new material in nearly ten years.
The Irish rock outfit, led by Bono, 66, with guitarist The Edge, 65, bassist Adam Clayton, 66, and drummer Larry Mullen Jr, 64, will kick off the Carnaval de Luz Presents: The Greatest Show on Earth World Tour in Mexico City on 23 February.
The outing will accompany their 16th studio album, Carnaval De Luz, which is set to drop on 13 November, with additional concerts anticipated across Europe, North America and their homeland Ireland.
In announcing the trek, the band stated: “‘The Greatest Show on Earth’? Now that’s a throwdown.”
They added: “It’s a dare, to ourselves as much as anyone, to try and have the best night of anybody’s life.”
“A touch of showman, a hint of shaman, a riot of color, unruly guitar, bass and drums, and melodies you can hold onto. Because if people are gonna show up, we certainly are.”
The tour derives its name from the group’s latest single, The Greatest Show on Earth, the third track released ahead of the album following Street of Dreams and Silencio.
The new record will be U2’s first collection of entirely original studio material since Songs of Experience in 2017.
It follows a stretch in which the band revisited their extensive catalogue while also releasing new material via smaller projects.
In February, U2 released the EP Days of Ash, followed by Easter Lily in April, marking their first new recordings since the 2023 album Songs of Surrender.
That project featured reworkings of songs from across their career, including material originally recorded during their rise to international fame in the 1980s and 1990s.
In 2024, the band also issued How to Re-Assemble an Atomic Bomb, a collection of previously unreleased recordings from the sessions for their Grammy-winning 2004 album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.
The forthcoming world tour will initially comprise six shows across three countries, with two performances each in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.
U2 will launch at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City before heading to São Paulo and Buenos Aires in March.
The group have indicated that additional dates will be announced, including performances in Ireland, although venues and dates have not yet been confirmed.
The concerts will mark another chapter in the band’s live history following their acclaimed U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere residency in Las Vegas, which ran from September 2023 until March 2024.
The residency featured performances of their landmark 1991 album Achtung Baby, including One, Mysterious Ways and Even Better Than the Real Thing, alongside other hits from their catalogue.
Larry was absent from the residency while recovering from surgery, with Dutch drummer Bram van den Berg, 44, performing in his place.
U2 have sold more than 170 million records worldwide, with a career spanning nearly five decades and albums including The Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum, All That You Can’t Leave Behind and No Line on the Horizon.
Among their best-known songs are With or Without You, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, Where the Streets Have No Name, Beautiful Day, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Pride (In the Name of Love) and Vertigo.
The group have won 22 Grammy Awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.
Their forthcoming album also features collaborations with Spanish singer Rosalía, 34, and the late American country star Dolly Parton.
Rosalía, whose albums include El Mal Querer and Motomami, is credited on The Mirror Maker, while Dolly, whose hits included Jolene and 9 to 5, appears on Torn.
The 12-track album also includes La Reina, Superficiality, Glorify and Midnight Sunshine.
U2 – Carnaval de Luz Presents: The Greatest Show on Earth World Tour 2027
23 February – Mexico City, Mexico – Estadio GNP Seguros
26 February – Mexico City, Mexico – Estadio GNP Seguros
10 March – São Paulo, Brazil – Estádio MorumBIS
12 March – São Paulo, Brazil – Estádio MorumBIS
23 March – Buenos Aires, Argentina – Estadio River Plate
25 March – Buenos Aires, Argentina – Estadio River Plate.
U2 – Carnaval De Luz album track listing
Go (Carnaval De Luz)
La Reina
Street Of Dreams
The Mirror Maker (Rosalía)
Superficiality
If The World Is At War We Better Not Be
Silencio
The Greatest Show On Earth
Glorify
Midnight Sunshine
Can’t Stop Us Now
Torn (Feat. Dolly Parton)
