U2 announce homecoming gigs in Belfast and Dublin

In Italy on Saturday, U2’s lead guitarist The Edge told the Press Association: “This show is designed for a type of venue and unfortunately there isn’t one, certainly in the south [of Ireland]”. Over the weekend, the band said they were doing everything in their power to take the world tour to Ireland – with The Edge saying not playing to a home crowd would be a “huge disappointment”.

The Edge recently said there would be no shows in here because there were no indoor concert venues suitable for the show. Their 13th studio album is an ode to their hometown of Dublin and charts their experiences of growing up in the capital as teenagers.

Two Belfast gigs have been included in a six-date “homecoming” by Irish rockers U2.

U2 have confirmed Irish dates in Dublin and Belfast after earlier worries that the preferred venues wouldn’t be able to cope with the Innocence and Experience production. There will be no in-person sales via the ticket agent – so don’t bother packing your sleeping bags and flasks of tea to queue before they go on sale next Monday morning. They are priced at from £30 to £165 for Belfast, and from €30 to €185 for Dublin.

“I am so happy we are bringing this home”, adds Bono.

Meanwhile, it was also announced that €2m from these concerts will go to Music Generation, Ireland’s National Music Education Programme which now provides high-quality subsidised music tuition to some 26,000 children and young people.

You can buy the tickets at the 3Arena and SSE Arena box offices and online, with floor tickets being sold with the Paperless Ticket system, to ensure fans have access to tickets at face value.