U2's Las Vegas residency will begin without Larry Mullen Jr

U2 have confirmed they will be starting their anticipated Las Vegas residency in the autumn of 2023 without drummer Larry Mullen Jr as he recovers from surgery.

The Irish rock outfit will begin a run of dates at the freshly opened MSG Square later this year.

"It's going to take all we’ve got to approach the Sphere without our bandmate in the drum seat, but Larry has joined us in welcoming Bram van den Berg, who is a force in his own right," U2 said in a statement on their official website.

News of the residency was confirmed during an advert at the 2023 Super Bowl in the US on Sunday.

Tonight. Superbowl LVII. #U2SPHERE pic.twitter.com/LyCY9MK1NV

— U2 (@U2) February 12, 2023

The extended trailer showed reports of an "unidentified flying object" with a large silver sphere floating through the air.

The Dublin band remarked that the Sphere show "has been in the works for a long time."

"We don't want to let people down, least of all our audience," U2 continued in the press statement. "The truth is we miss them as much as they appear to miss us. Our audience was always the fifth member of the band. Bottom line, U2 hasn't played live since December 2019 and we need to get back on stage and see the faces of our fans again - and what a unique stage they're building for us out there in the desert.

"We're the right band, ACHTUNG BABY the right album, and the Sphere the right venue to take the live experience of music to the next level... That's what U2's been trying to do all along with our satellite stages and video installations, most memorably on the ZOO TV Tour, which ended in Tokyo 30 years ago this Fall.

"The Sphere is more than just a venue, it's a gallery and U2's music is going to be all over the walls."

The announcement comes ahead of the band's Songs of Surrender – a collection of 40 songs from U2’s back catalogue, re-recorded and reimagined – which is due to be released on 17 March.

The Edge added: "The beauty of the Sphere is not only the ground-breaking technology that will make it so unique, with the world’s most advanced audio system, integrated into a structure which is designed with sound quality as a priority; it’s also the possibilities around immersive experience in real and imaginary landscapes. In short, it’s a canvas of an unparalleled scale and image resolution and a once-in-a-generation opportunity. We all thought about it and decided we’d be mad not to accept the invitation.”

Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. Executive Chairman and CEO James L. Dolan said, “MSG Sphere’s advanced technology allows a legendary band like U2 to bring its music to life in entirely new ways. The Sphere is a new medium that will redefine entertainment.”

U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at The Sphere will kick off in the autumn of 2023.

The full-length trailer announcement can be viewed at U2xSPHERE.com and is a celebration of the global U2 community, featuring a select group of new and longtime U2 fans (along with a few band doppelgangers) coming together for a futuristic Achtung Baby adventure in a unique desert landscape.