U2 will kick off its first US tour in four years in Florida on Saturday on a huge, elaborate stage being built in Miami.
The band, which has a reputation for extravagant shows, rented the Miami Arena at a cost of $3,500 a day so its crew could build the stage for its Elevation Tour 2001, the Miami Heraldreported today.
While design details were being kept under wraps, Arena general manager Mr Robert Franklin said the stage was gigantic, almost in the shape of a diamond.
It's a very impressive set, that's for sure, he told the Herald.
It will feature banks of huge television screens and an area within the stage where fans can be amid the band. The band will rehearse there in the next few days.
Saturday's sold-out show at the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise will launch a tour which will take the band through 80 dates in North America and Europe. It will be U2's first tour in the United States since 1997's Pop Mart Tour.