SSE Arena
U2 Belfast SSE shows sees major operation underway to set up for double-header
Piecing together the massive show requires 29 trucks which rolled into the Titanic Quarter earlier this week
Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen junior, The Edge and Bono perform live on stage during a concert in Berlin (Image: Frank Hoensch/Getty Images)
A major operation has been in place at the SSE Arena since 2am this morning in preparation for this weekend's U2 double-header.
The Irish rockers are performing tonight and tomorrow – their first concerts in Belfast since 2015.
They are installing an 80ft LED wall that will split the arena in half as well as a second stage at the end of the screen's internal runway.
Piecing together the massive show requires 29 trucks which rolled into the Titanic Quarter earlier this week.
In charge of operations at the SSE Arena is David Lamont.
David Lamont, operations manager at SSE Arena
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The Ballymena man told Belfast Live: "The production manager flew in on Thursday and was with us for a walk-around.
"It's pretty much double what you'd normally get. ELO are performing the Friday night and they're a 14-truck show."
The capacity for both gigs at the venue is just under 10,000.
The four-piece are bringing with them a crew of around 100. A further 100 local people will be involved in the set-up which will include hanging a considerable amount of equipment from the ceiling.
A video projection of the rock band U2 is seen at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville (Image: Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
David said yesterday: "We start at 2am on Saturday morning and the band hopes to have soundcheck late afternoon. Doors open at 6.30pm.
"It's a tight schedule. ELO will be out around 1am and then we have about an hour for the 29 U2 trucks to roll in.
"U2 tour with a big crew, I would say they're probably one of the biggest. But it's a different show than anyone will have seen before.
"The screen down the middle is probably one of the biggest you'll see in the world. It's a unique set-up and means there isn't really a bad seat in the house.
"Once the band come on they don't stop. They'll be putting on a huge spectacle."
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U2 returned to Belfast after almost 20 years in 2015. They previously played at Botanic Gardens in 1997 and at the Yes show in the Waterfront Hall ahead of 1998's Good Friday Agreement.
This time they're touring Songs Of Experience, last year's companion album to the earlier Songs Of Innocence.
Since beginning the European leg, the band has been unfurling a European Union flag during the show.
And in London, Bono told the crowd: "No one wants you to leave."
Fans, many of whom have seen U2 multiple times, were last night counting down the hours until the double gigs.
Martin McCarney, 49, from Belfast, first saw them play in Dublin in 1985. This weekend's shows will be his 27th and 28th.
Martin McCarney and son Thomas at U2 in 2009 Croke Park
He told Belfast Live: "They've retained the fan base because they haven't turned into a greatest hits touring band. They are always producing new music."
Meanwhile, Belfast-born Fionnuala Donnelly has travelled from London for tonight's show.
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Ahead of her 16th U2 gig, the 49-year-old said: "Every concert has been memorable but the buzz you get in Belfast or Dublin is something special.
"The opening to the 'Where Streets Have No Name' still transports me to my 18th Birthday when the crowd surged forward in the King's Hall.
It was electric. I'm hoping to get that feeling again on Saturday night."
Brendan Mulgrew, 50, from Belfast is seeing the band for the 16th time on Sunday night.
Fionnuala Donnelly and Brendan Mulgrew
He said: "The band are like the cool cousin who comes to visit every now and then. There is a real bond there a mutual appreciation between us and the band.
"The 'YES' concert in 1998 cemented that relationship and the Botanic show came at a really hopeful time too."
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