Johannesburg and Cape Town PreSale/GenSale

[Sicy]

U2 are returning to South Africa for the first time since the POPMART Tour in 1998.

With two U2 360° dates in 2011 they will make history as the first band to stage live concerts in the Soccer World Cup Stadio in both Johannesburg and Cape Town.

U2 will play on Sunday, February 13th, 2011 in Johannesburg (Gauteng) at the FNB Stadium and on Friday, February 18th, in Cape Town (Western Cape) at Cape Town Stadium.

Tickets in both cities will start at R161.00, with General Admission floor tickets available at R401.00. Reserved seat tickets are also available, starting at R428.00 in Cape Town and R696.00 in Johannesburg.

Tickets for both shows go on sale Saturday, October 23rd.

U2.com subscribers can enter a special advance presale for tickets beginning this Wednesday, October 20th and running until Friday, October 22nd.

Subscribers will be emailed ahead of this presale with details of timings.

 

[cleazer]

from u2.com:

The subscriber presale will begin this Wed. Oct. 20 9AM and run through Fri. Oct. 22 12noon (local time). Note - there will be no Group 1 / Group 2 times for this presale - all subscribers begin and end the presale at the same time.

So now instead of 5 or 2 groups, there's just one.

That shouldn't be a problem in South Africa though.

 

[ramblin rose]

Really, the only surprise is that this thread had a post in it.

 

[Galeongirl]

Do we have any members living in South Africa?

 

[Sicy]

GibsonGirl is from there I think, maybe she'll make a trip?

 

[HBK-79]

Right now, I'm wondering why there won't be a show at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

A lot of international music stars touring South Africa have been making stops in Durban.

 

[beershack]

Right now, I'm wondering why there won't be a show at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

A lot of international music stars touring South Africa have been making stops in Durban.

Not enough demand, probably. Jburg is driving distance of Durbs (or a cheap flight).

 

[lauramullen]

I think the email said that in the presale you can get four tickets for both shows with the same presale code.

 

[U2FanPeter]

Right now, I'm wondering why there won't be a show at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

A lot of international music stars touring South Africa have been making stops in Durban.

Bringing all 3 claws to SA would be stupid. Same reason they only do one venue in New Zealand. 2 claws doing 3 cities would be like 12 days.

 

[Axver]

Bringing all 3 claws to SA would be stupid. Same reason they only do one venue in New Zealand. 2 claws doing 3 cities would be like 12 days.

What? This doesn't even make sense.

Firstly, they wouldn't need a third Claw to play Durban. The two that will go there would be quite sufficient (Australia's not getting a third Claw, for instance). 2 Claws doing 3 cities in 12 days is hardly unreasonable. One city each weekend. Easy, and a good schedule to maximise sales.

And this has got nothing to do with why they only do one city in New Zealand. The reason they're doing one city in New Zealand (and did on Vertigo) is economies of scale: it is cheaper to do two shows in Auckland than one in Auckland and one in Christchurch or Wellington. Same amount of shows, same amount of ticket takings (since the venues are roughly equivalent in size), but no extra travel costs. They already have a second Claw in the region so they could EASILY do another New Zealand city if they felt so inclined.

Truth be told, I reckon they could right now sell out Christchurch or Wellington as well as 2x Auckland, but U2 have always had a conservative and risk-averse touring schedule.

 

[U2FanPeter]

What? This doesn't even make sense.

Firstly, they wouldn't need a third Claw to play Durban. The two that will go there would be quite sufficient (Australia's not getting a third Claw, for instance). 2 Claws doing 3 cities in 12 days is hardly unreasonable. One city each weekend. Easy, and a good schedule to maximise sales.

And this has got nothing to do with why they only do one city in New Zealand. The reason they're doing one city in New Zealand (and did on Vertigo) is economies of scale: it is cheaper to do two shows in Auckland than one in Auckland and one in Christchurch or Wellington. Same amount of shows, same amount of ticket takings (since the venues are roughly equivalent in size), but no extra travel costs. They already have a second Claw in the region so they could EASILY do another New Zealand city if they felt so inclined.

Truth be told, I reckon they could right now sell out Christchurch or Wellington as well as 2x Auckland, but U2 have always had a conservative and risk-averse touring schedule.

3 Claws to play 3 shows, or even 3 shows over 12 days with 2 claws may not be all cost/schedule logical. The later option would mean the crew of the leapfrogging Claw would be in the country for 3 weeks.

2 claws for Australia/NZ can work because of all the added shows giving it an even schedule. Adding another NZ city would have to be a week before the Auckland show. An odd pattern given the band has to rehearse after 6 weeks off.

U2 have already taken risks on this tour: Turkey, Russia and maybe Norman Charlottesville & Phoenix. I mean "risk" as in little chance of getting anywhere near selling every possible seat as opposed to losing money.

 

[BoMac]

Do we have any members living in South Africa?

We have a former (banned), 90's music-loving member that lives there, I believe.

 

[pepokiss]

GibsonGirl is from there I think, maybe she'll make a trip?

I thought she was from Canada...

 

[greety]

I know a Belgian fan, on the zoo known as Gloria002, she will be attending the Cape Town show

 

[Junan]

I am about 90% sure that I will attend the Cape Town show....keeping fingers crossed

 

[Axver]

I thought she was from Canada...

She's from South Africa, lives in Canada last I knew.

Speaking of her, whatever happened to her? I don't think I've seen her around in two years, give or take.

 

[Axver]

3 Claws to play 3 shows, or even 3 shows over 12 days with 2 claws may not be all cost/schedule logical. The later option would mean the crew of the leapfrogging Claw would be in the country for 3 weeks.

What exactly is the big deal here? I mean, the crew on the Aussie leg have to be here for basically a month. It's hardly an issue how long the crew have to be in the country.

You've already got two Claws going to South Africa. If the Jo'burg Claw went to Durban afterwards, it would 1. be on the coast and closer to where it will be shipped out of the country, and 2. it would make more money for itself while there, since substantial ticket sales in Durban would more than counter-act transport costs from Jo'burg (especially because a lot of the gear has to be taken from Jo'burg to the coast ANYWAY). Put simply, if U2/their management wanted to do a Durban gig, it's very feasible logistically.

The only reason I can see for not playing Durban is fears that the demand isn't there. Come Monday, we'll know just how good U2's pulling power is in South Africa. If tickets sell slowly, then no wonder Durban's not included. If they go like hotcakes, it's baffling that Durban is omitted.

2 claws for Australia/NZ can work because of all the added shows giving it an even schedule. Adding another NZ city would have to be a week before the Auckland show. An odd pattern given the band has to rehearse after 6 weeks off.

They already have basically a week off between Auckland and Melbourne anyway. Adding Christchurch or Wellington before Auckland would be no issue there (especially as you'd be using Melbourne's Claw, not Auckland's). If you held a Christchurch gig on 20/11, the time between that and the first Auckland gig is the same as between the second Auckland gig and Melbourne, and the time needed to get the Christchurch Claw to Melbourne is just one day less than allowed for Auckland to Brisbane (and trans-Tasman shipping can get there in time; you'd have a couple of days to spare, in fact).

U2 have already taken risks on this tour: Turkey, Russia and maybe Norman Charlottesville & Phoenix. I mean "risk" as in little chance of getting anywhere near selling every possible seat as opposed to losing money.

Those are "risks" in the U2 sense of the word, but hardly risks in a broader manner of speaking. They are all markets that other established artists have played stadium gigs in before and proven that it is viable, even if a sell-out isn't assured like it is in New York or London. It's not like U2 were trailblazers there. The only market where you could possibly consider U2 to be trailblazers is Bosnia-Herzegovina with Popmart Sarajevo, and even then, they haven't been back since.

Similarly, if they ever do a show in Singapore or South Korea, it would not be a true risk. Western artists play substantial venues there often. Somewhere like Morocco or Tunisia, on the other hand, might be.

 

[beershack]

I would bet close to 1/2 the tickets get comped out to people in the townships. The majority of the population in SA just doesnt have the funds to afford this type of event.

A 3rd show would be financially crippling to Live Nation (who are hemorrhaging money on a daily basis)

 

[Sicy]

Speaking of her, whatever happened to her? I don't think I've seen her around in two years, give or take.

She's on facebook.

 

[Junan]

hmmmm, someone must be buying tickets to these shows because the general sale has been awful....been up since 3:00 a.m. trying to get Red Zone for CT but can't access the site. I keep getting the please try again message....hopefully if the tickets sell well they will add a second show and I can try again.

 

[robbrecon72]

Bring on second shows!


Eyewitness News: Computicket crashes, but U2 ticket sales soar

U2 kills Computicket website

 

[beershack]

hmmmm, someone must be buying tickets to these shows because the general sale has been awful....been up since 3:00 a.m. trying to get Red Zone for CT but can't access the site. I keep getting the please try again message....hopefully if the tickets sell well they will add a second show and I can try again.

Im able to pull Red Zone 2 for Cape Town right now - try again if you havent got them yet

 

[Axver]

Latest reports are that 40,000 tickets of 101,000(!) have been sold for Cape Town, and 30,000 of 70,000 for Johannesburg. Pretty good early sales, but given how huge the capacity is at Cape Town, I don't expect that will sell out. Jo'burg may get there.

In other words, forget second shows.

And in light of this demand, we can probably see why Durban isn't in the schedule. That said, how many people are actually going to be travelling? I guess we can keep conjecturing until the cows come home.

At any rate, some other artists have managed to do four or five cities on outdoor South African tours recently. Durban, Port Elizabeth, and Bloemfontein have all been destinations.

 

[ajax]

Latest reports are that 40,000 tickets of 101,000(!) have been sold for Cape Town, and 30,000 of 70,000 for Johannesburg. Pretty good early sales, but given how huge the capacity is at Cape Town, I don't expect that will sell out. Jo'burg may get there.

The official capacity of the Cape Town Stadium is about 64,000 seats, so there is no way that 101,000 tickets have been made available for that concert. In fact, as the local media in South Africa report, 94,000 tickets have been made available for FNB Stadium in Johannesburg and 51,000 for the concert at Cape Town.

 

[paulrg]

The ticketing system for South Africa is also weird - a bit like the system they had in place for Russia which sold slowly. If i understand the small print correctly then you do not get a ticket mailed to you when you order online - instead you get a receipt which you can exchange for a ticket at an office in South Africa but not until after January 11th? These types of hurdles inevitably put off more casual concert-goers.

 

[robbrecon72]

Latest reports are that 40,000 tickets of 101,000(!) have been sold for Cape Town, and 30,000 of 70,000 for Johannesburg. Pretty good early sales, but given how huge the capacity is at Cape Town, I don't expect that will sell out. Jo'burg may get there.

In other words, forget second shows.

And in light of this demand, we can probably see why Durban isn't in the schedule. That said, how many people are actually going to be travelling? I guess we can keep conjecturing until the cows come home.

At any rate, some other artists have managed to do four or five cities on outdoor South African tours recently. Durban, Port Elizabeth, and Bloemfontein have all been destinations.

that was 40,000 for Johannesburg and 30,000 tickets for Cape Town in the first 90 minutes of sale, ...read article below....and that is with the site constantly crashing and people having to que for two hours just to get tickets. So sales a very good actually and I could definitely see a show in Durban as well. They should have added it to the schedule. both shows will sell out, but i might take back my words earlier about adding an additional show in each city. we'll have to see.

Fans stampede for U2 concert tickets - Times LIVE

 

[Axver]

Yeah, sorry, I typed that around the wrong way.

 

[prbiker15]

that was 40,000 for Johannesburg and 30,000 tickets for Cape Town in the first 90 minutes of sale, ...read article below....and that is with the site constantly crashing and people having to que for two hours just to get tickets. So sales a very good actually and I could definitely see a show in Durban as well. They should have added it to the schedule. both shows will sell out, but i might take back my words earlier about adding an additional show in each city. we'll have to see.

Fans stampede for U2 concert tickets - Times LIVE

Funny that the article claims that U2 is famous for "Stuck In A Moment"

Van Wyk said the Joburg concert would be the largest in U2's world tour, with Mexico City clinching second place with a capacity of 99000.

The largest concert in U2 360? I honestly think Mexico City is going to get it, when they start selling the extra tickets.

So I guess better than expected sales for South Africa?

 

[HBK-79]

At any rate, some other artists have managed to do four or five cities on outdoor South African tours recently. Durban, Port Elizabeth, and Bloemfontein have all been destinations.

Which artists if I may ask?

 

[prbiker15]

Which artists if I may ask?

Celine Dion did a huge tour back in February 2008. Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria and Johannesburg.

Robbie Williams did Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria (that's only 3 though, plus in 2006).

That's all I can think of really.