U2 360° Tour: The Claw Stage, 7.3 Million Fans and a US$736 Million Record (2009–11)

The U2 360° Tour played 111 shows to 7.3 million fans between June 30, 2009 and July 30, 2011, grossing US$736.4 million. It held the records for both the highest-grossing and highest-attended concert tour until 2019.

The tour supported No Line on the Horizon. It opened in Barcelona, where nearly 90,000 tickets sold in 54 minutes, and closed in Moncton, Canada.

The Claw: the U2 360 stage

The U2 360 stage, nicknamed “The Claw,” was a four-legged steel structure designed by architect Mark Fisher with Chuck Hoberman and Frederic Opsomer. It held the sound system and a cylindrical video screen above a round stage, so fans could stand on every side.

It stood about 50 m (164 ft) tall and could carry up to 200 tonnes. Three Claws were built so shows could leapfrog between cities, and each one needed 120 trucks to move.

Production costs ran to about $750,000 a day, not counting building the stage.

U2 360 tour dates and records

• Barcelona, June 30, 2009: opening night, with a Spanish record of nearly 90,000 tickets sold in 54 minutes
• 650,000 tickets in seven hours: a ticket-sales record when the first legs went on sale
• Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Oct. 25, 2009: 97,014 fans, a US record for a single headlining act (full story)
• 60+ venues: the tour set attendance records at more than 60 stadiums
• Moncton, July 30, 2011: the final show, with Arcade Fire opening

Openers

Snow Patrol opened most early European and Canadian dates. Other openers included Muse, Kaiser Chiefs, Black Eyed Peas, Florence and the Machine, and Jay-Z in New Zealand.

How does the 2027 tour compare?

U2’s first stadium tour since 2019, the Carnaval de Luz world tour, opens Feb. 23, 2027 with 34 shows announced so far. Track what they play on the U2 setlist page.