U2 live in Italy in 2027? The touring plans for the Irish band's next album

According to reports from U2songs, a source traditionally reliable when it comes to the Irish band, U2 are said to be working on a new album expected in autumn 2026, with a possible single arriving as early as before summer. The release could coincide with September 25, 2026, the symbolic date marking fifty years since the band's formation. Meanwhile, details are also emerging about a world tour planned for 2027. The plans, still unofficial, point to a South American leg at the start of the year, followed by a summer European stretch and then shows in North America. Among the possibilities are several stadium dates in Italy, as well as stops in the UK, Germany, and four shows at Dublin's Croke Park. The tour could run through 2028.

Some of these elements also surface in Propaganda, the fanzine founded in 1986 and now revived in digital form to coincide with the release, on Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, of the “Days Of Ash” Ep

Bono has stressed his intention to bring back a collective, participatory atmosphere to the shows: “We're going to try to recreate that carnival feeling among the crowd, where we hope we can show each other not just where we are, but where we want to get to… We need some serious fun. We can't let bad news always overshadow the good news of waking up in the morning and being together in the same place… We're so much better live!”, the Dublin-born singer noted.

“We need a bit of carnival, there can't be only ashes,” Bono reiterated while presenting the upcoming album by U2 in the pages of Propaganda. The issue gathers lyrics, notes and interviews with the band members and with some of the figures involved in the project, such as director Ilya Mikhaylus, who made the video for “Yours Eternally”. The new record, due by the end of the year, will move in a different direction from the Ep, Bono explains. “The album we're working on has a different narrative, a more joyful mood. A carnival.” There are 25 unreleased tracks on the table: the ones destined for the album will have a more celebratory tone, less marked by the urgency and unease running through “Days Of Ash”. “The songs on the Ep are a reaction to the anxieties of these times. They might irritate or annoy some parties, but describing the world around us is part of U2's job.”

If confirmed, the new record would be the band's first work of original material since the disappointing “Songs Of Experience” in 2017, marking the group's return with a full-length of new songs after nearly a decade.

Meanwhile, “Days Of Ash” has already been released, a six-song Ep “inspired by the many extraordinary and courageous people fighting on the front line for freedom.” It's a release that follows in the wake of Bruce Springsteen's protest song “Streets of Minneapolis”, though with a melodic inspiration that has raised the Dublin band's stock.

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