  The identification of the carrier(s) of diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) is
one of the oldest mysteries in stellar spectroscopy. With the advent of
8-10m-class telescopes substantial progress has been made in measuring the
properties of DIBs in the optical and near-infrared wavelength domain, not only
in the Galaxy, but also in different environments encountered in Local Group
galaxies and beyond. Still, the DIB carriers have remained unidentified. The
coming decade will witness the development of extremely large telescopes (GMT,
TMT and E-ELT) and their instrumentation. In this overview I will highlight the
current instrumentation plan of these future observatories, emphasizing their
potential role in solving the enigma of the DIBs.
