A statement released by the band's manager Paul McGuinness yesterday emphasised that the routing for the tour is still being worked on and this Is clearly a challenge that the band's management company will be wrestling with over the coming weeks. However, Hotpress has confirmed that reports carried by national newspapers in Ireland this morning, that there are concerns about the health of a member of Edge's family, are accurate and that this is the underlying reason for the delay.
The original report, carried by Rolling Stone, suggested that concerns about the health of a close relative of one of the band members had led to the tour temporarily being put on hold. "When a member of the family is facing a serious illness, it's just not possible to embark on a world tour of the kind that U2 do," a source tells Hotpress, "so everything is on hold. Obviously it's a very sensitive area. The hope is that the delay won't be too protracted, but nobody knows because the situation is serious."
The proposed tour schedule had the band kicking off at the beginning of March in Florida, with as many as 35 US dates in the first leg. Major Irish shows had been anticipated at Croke Park, which has a capacity of 80,000, on June 24 and 25 – with the possibility of a further Dublin date being added –and the hope is that these shows will still launch the European leg of the tour.
However, a lot now depends on the length of the delay, and the full extent of the re-routing required as a result. With the other members of the band due to return from holidays, the likelihood is that rehearsals will begin over the next week or so – but when the first concert will be remains a matter of speculation.