Culture 3 min read By Trevor Kendall
U2 Announce First Dates for 2027 World Tour and Share New Single
U2 will launch their 2027 stadium tour in February with shows in Mexico City, São Paulo, and Buenos Aires, supported by Beck. The announcement coincides with the release of their new single «The Greatest Show On Earth» from the upcoming album «Carnaval De Luz».
U2 have announced the first dates for their 2027 world stadium tour, titled «The Greatest Show On Earth World Tour». The Irish rock band will kick off the trek in February with two shows at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City, followed by two nights at Estádio MorumBIS in São Paulo in March and two concerts at Estadio River Plate in Buenos Aires later that month. Beck will serve as support act for all six dates.
The tour marks U2's first full-scale concerts since they concluded their acclaimed residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas in early 2024. The band revealed last month that they had returned to rehearsals for a new stadium tour, with drummer Larry Mullen Jr. making his full return to the stage after undergoing surgery. Further dates for the UK, Europe, and North America are expected to be announced in the coming weeks, according to a press release. A return to Ireland is also in the works.
The announcement coincides with the release of U2's new single, «The Greatest Show On Earth», the latest preview of their 16th studio album, «Carnaval De Luz», which arrives on November 13. Co-written by U2 and Brian Eno, the song is described as «a story of lovers fighting to keep faith in each other – and faith itself». The track features towering guitar work from The Edge and arrives with an official Anton Corbijn-directed video, filmed in the Californian desert. The black-and-white visuals satirise U2 as a masked religious cult where women do all the heavy lifting.
In a statement, the band explained the song's «‘The Greatest Show On Earth’? Now that’s a throwdown. It’s a dare, to ourselves as much as anyone, to try and have the best night of anybody’s life. A bit of showman, a bit of shaman, a riot of colour, unreasonable guitar, bass and drums, and tunes you can hold onto. Because if people are gonna show up, we certainly are.»
Tickets for the newly announced shows go on general sale at 10am local time on Thursday, October 22. subscribers will have access to a pre-sale beginning at the same time on Monday, October 19. The single follows previous releases «Silencio» and «Street Of Dreams».
«Carnaval De Luz» also features notable collaborations. The closing track, «Torn», serves as Dolly Parton's last-ever recorded performance. Elsewhere on the record, U2 honour the «extraordinary artist» Rosalía on the song «The Mirror Maker (Rosalía)». The Spanish singer said Bono had reached out to ask for her help with some lyrics while working on the track. In other news, U2 have joined forces with Jack White's Third Man Records for a limited edition vinyl version of the album.
U2's previous album, «Songs Of Experience», arrived in 2017. Their collection of reimagined classics, «Songs Of Surrender», was released in 2023. They shared two EPs – «Days Of Ash» and «Easter Lily» – earlier this year. The band recently marked their 50th anniversary with two special pop-up performances in Dublin.
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