U2 360° Tour starts

The group embarked on the U2 360° Tour in June 2009. It was their first live venture for Live Nation under a 12-year, US$100 million ( £50 million ) contract signed the year prior. As part of the deal, the company assumed control over U2’s touring, merchandising, and official website. The 360° Tour concerts featured the band playing stadiums ” in the round “, allowing the audience to surround them on all sides. To accommodate the stage configuration, a large four-legged structure nicknamed “The Claw” was built above the stage, with the sound system and a cylindrical, expanding video screen on top of it. At 164 feet (50 m) tall, it was the largest stage ever constructed. The tour visited Europe and North America in 2009. On 25 October 2009, U2 set a new US record for single concert attendance for one headline act, performing to 97,014 people at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. In May 2010, while rehearsing for the next leg of the tour, Bono suffered a herniated disk and severe compression of the sciatic nerve , requiring emergency back surgery. The band were forced to postpone the North American leg of the tour and a headlining performance at the Glastonbury Festival 2010 until the following year. After Bono’s recovery, U2 resumed the 360° Tour in August 2010 with legs in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, during which they began to play new, unreleased songs live. By its conclusion in July 2011, U2 360° had set records for the highest-grossing concert tour ( US$736 million ) and most tickets sold for a tour (7.3 million).