U2 to Play Rare, Intimate London Show for BBC Music in November

While they typically fill stadiums around the world, U2 will go small next week when they play an exclusive, intimate show for BBC Music. The Nov. 3 performance at an as-yet-unannounced central London venue will feature a select group of fans who will see the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band play classics from their catalog as well as new songs from their upcoming Carnaval de Luz LP.

A limited number of tickets for the gig — whose location will be revealed to ticketholders on the day of the performance — are available now through a BBC Audiences ballot, which is open through tonight (Oct. 29); click here to register.

The show will be broadcast on BBC Two in late November as part of a night of programming dedicated to the band, with the show also available on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds after the broadcast.

In addition, the group will be holding Carnaval De Luz global listening parties in which fans can get a first chance to hear the band’s 16th studio album, due out on Nov. 15, at participating record stores around the world from Nov. 12-15. The events will feature giveaways and prizes and take place at multiple locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.

There will also be listening events at stores across the U.K. and in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain.

So far, U2 has dropped the singles “Street of Dreams,” “The Greatest Show on Earth” and “Silencio” from their first full album of new material in nine years. The LP features the final vocal performance from late country icon Dolly Parton on the song “Torn,” which was co-written by the band, Parton and Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid, as well as a song dedicated to Rosalía titled “The Mirror Maker (Rosalía).

The band also recently announced a return to stadiums for their 2027 Carnaval De Luz Presents: The Greatest Show on Earth World Tour, which will kick off in Mexico City on Feb. 23 at Estadio GNP Seguros, followed by multiple nights in São Paulo, Brazil and Buenos Aires, Argentina and just announced shows in the U.K. and Europe.