U2's UFO Lands at Sun Life Stadium

The Claw is the centerpiece of the 360 Degree Tour

It looks like an alien spaceship landed at Sun Life Stadium. But instead of a UFO, it's just U2.

Sun Life has been taken over by an alien of sorts as crews have worked nonstop to put together the stage and sets for the band's performance Wednesday.

The centerpiece is a four-legged monstrosity, fitting for the most ambitious and most expensive tour in music history.

"There has really never been anything this size," U2 Tour Director Craig Evans said.

The U2 360 Degrees Tour employs about 500 workers, not to mention an additional 1,500 they hire locally.

That's what it takes to make the largest stage in concert history come to life. But it also takes time.

They started building the stage on Friday and will continue until the day of the show. It takes six days to construct "The Claw" and another two days to break it down.

U2 uses three different stages on the road at once, but the Claw stands out like none other.

The finished product captures the essence of the goal of lead singer and music icon Bono: to reach out to every member in the screaming crowd.

"They wanted it to feel intimate," said Jake Berry, U2's production director. "Their idea was to build something big, make the stadium look smaller, and then you draw people in."

"This (Sun Life Stadium) is a perfectly designed stadium for this show," Evans said. "Every seat is a great seat."

U2 has a long history of performing in South Florida, but fans here have never seen anything like this.

Hopefully it will be worth the wait. The concert was originally scheduled for last summer and tickets went on sale so long ago, the stadium name on some tickets still reads Landshark Stadium.

The show got postponed because Bono needed back surgery.

Contact Us