Dizzy heights: a Vertigo reality

It costs 1 million a night to put the Vertigo show on the road

It costs 1 million a night to put the Vertigo show on the road. With 3,000 lights, five video screens, numerous stage effects and 120 road crew, this is one of the most expensive rock shows ever staged.

That figure also includes the cost of a personal assistant for each band member, a team of accountants, a wardrobe consultant and two press officers. It's perhaps just as well that 1.9 million tickets (at an average price of 80 - although that figure varies depending on the size of the venue and the country U2 are playing in) have already been sold. The 160,000 tickets for the two Croke Park shows sold out in less than 50 minutes and the band broke records for the fastest selling rock show in France, Spain and Austria. Selected merchandising available at venues on the tour includes a baseball hat (22), a tour programme (15), a hooded sweatshirt (€55), and a Vertigo tour chain (8). The biggest challenge for U2 fans is trying to get a place in the "Vertigo Club" - a small space surrounding the stage that holds about 200 people. On this tour, a ticket scanner randomly selects the 200 people each night.

Vertigo is split into three legs. The first leg is in the US, running from March to May; the second leg in Europe begins in Brussels in June and finishes up in Lisbon in August and the third leg returns to North America, starting in Toronto in September and finishing in Portland on December 19th. It is believed that a fourth leg will take in Japan, China and Australasia in 2006, with the band also lined up to play the new Wembley stadium next year.