U2's stage design is talk of the town

Photo: U2.com

With the opening night of U2’s world tour, “U2 360”, fast approaching (only five days left of waiting), the impressive stage design the band has created for the tour is getting everyone excited.

“The New York Times” published a great story about the creation of U2’s stage and the time and money it takes to put the tour together. The tour is expected to cost around $150 million to keep it running for 18 months. As for the “Claw”, the article takes a sci-fi approach to describing it:

“Perching above on four spindly legs will be a steel colossus bearing the lighting, speakers, cables and a giant conical video screen. Looking not unlike a sea monster, it is 150 meters high, or about 165 feet, weighs 390 tons and packs away into 180 trucks.”

Willie Williams, the Show Designer, said he was inspired by “the four-legged arched structure of the 1961 Theme Building at Los Angeles airport” when he was thinking of possible set designs for the tour. He does think the under-the-sea references are called for.

“It does look as though it has escaped from a giant space aquarium,” he said.

Mark Fisher, the tour’s architect, collaborated with Williams on U2’s "ZooTV" tour in the early nineties. Fisher is confident that this tour will keep the intimacy with U2 and their fans intact because of not only the stage, but also the screens that will project live footage of the band as they perform.

“Why do people go to shows like this in the digital age? It’s for the huge collective experience, the social and spatial and memories,” he said, “This set will contribute by creating a massive sense of anticipation and delivering an amazing kinetic performance.”

For more info on U2’s incredible stage and the tour, visit 360.u2.com