U2 is to stage Belfast's biggest rock concert ever later this month. The band yesterday announced that it would bring its PopMart world tour to Botanic Gardens, in the south of the city, on August 26th.
Some 40,000 tickets will go on sale for the concert. These, music observers predict, will be snapped up.
U2 has managed to include the date after last-minute negotiations to rearrange its schedule. The PopMart tour is the band's first set of live concerts in nearly five years. It opened in April in Las Vegas.
U2's manager, Mr Paul McGuinness, said it would be a record-breaking concert for the city. "I don't think there has been a big outdoor concert like this in Belfast ever. We tried to find a way of playing Belfast on the last tour but it wasn't possible to find a big enough place to do it. Botanic Gardens will take up to 40,000 people. I think this will be the highlight of our tour."
