U2 are marking half a century together by revisiting their earliest days in Ireland while continuing to build out their future on the stadium circuit. As the Dublin quartet prepare for the arrival of their sixteenth studio album, Carnaval De Luz, on November 13, they have announced a physical release created alongside Guinness. The tie-up arrives alongside an expansion of their 2027 world tour, which has grown to accommodate strong demand in several European capitals.
The centrepiece of the physical collaboration is a heavyweight pearl white marble vinyl pressing of Carnaval De Luz, produced as part of the group's fiftieth anniversary. Packaged with the record is a sixteen-page booklet containing lyrics, photography, and project imagery, alongside a double-sided Guinness Collectors Art print designed by Bono. Standard editions of the album arrive through traditional retail on November 13, but the marble vinyl will only be sold in person. On release day, copies will be available at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin and the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in London, accompanied by two commemorative t-shirts. A third location, the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Chicago, will receive its own batch on November 20.
The relationship between the band and the brewery has history behind it. In 1978, two years after forming in Dublin, the group won the Guinness Harp Lager Talent Competition in Limerick, an early contest that provided crucial momentum. For this release, Island Records and Guinness are directing a portion of the revenue from the vinyl and clothing sales to the Guinness Dublin 8 Community Fund. Stephen O'Kelly, global brand director at Guinness, noted that the initiative reflects a common priority of connecting people, remarking that the band have treated their audience as their heartbeat over fifty years while ensuring local Dublin neighbourhoods benefit directly from the project.
Looking ahead, the band's live commitments for 2027 under The Greatest Show On Earth banner have expanded. London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has added a third evening on June 22, with tickets becoming available to the public and U2.com members on November 6 at 10am GMT. Other European additions include a date at the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam on June 9, as well as a second night at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on July 1.
Those European dates feature Wolf Alice in the support slot. That run begins at Stockholm's Strawberry Arena in late April, travelling to the Stade de France in Paris, Lisbon's Estadio da Luz, Amsterdam, London, and Berlin before wrapping up at the Stadio San Siro in Milan in early July. Before arriving in Europe, the tour works through Latin America across February and March with Beck opening. That earlier schedule features four nights at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City, four at Estádio MorumBIS in São Paulo, and three at Estadio River Plate in Buenos Aires.
The staggered brewery drops in Dublin, London, and Chicago will send collectors hunting for physical copies in very specific rooms, contrasting directly with the enormous scale of the band's touring plans. Nearly fifty years on from winning a talent contest in Limerick, U2 are still balancing intimate local roots with the sheer machinery of international stadium rock.
