U2 To Play Berlin Wall Anniversary Concert

Having just finished rocking the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles, U2 is set to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with a free concert in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

The concert will take place Nov. 5th and will also be part of the MTV Europe Music Awards. Should be quite a celebration.

“It will be an exciting spot to be in, 20 years almost to the day since the Wall came down. Should be fun,” said the band’s manager, Paul McGuinness, on the band’s website.

The real anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall is actually Nov. 9; look for numerous ceremonies in Germany, besides the big U2 show.

It was in Berlin, Germany’s largest city, that U2 relocated in 1990 (not long after the wall came down) to record sessions at the Hansa Studios that would later appear on the album Achtung Baby, released in 1991. There are lots of great stories about how the band almost broke up during the recording of Achtung Baby mostly due to musical differences between the band – a battle between a more traditional, U2 sound versus experimenting with electronic music.

Thankfully the foursome did not part ways and you might say the two styles finally merged on Achtung Baby, truly a fantastic album top to bottom.

The U2 concert at the Berlin Wall will be transmitted live via satellite into the MTV Europe Music Awards ceremony, which will be held at Berlin’s O2 Arena. Katy Perry has been recruited to host the event.

Said Antonio Campo Dall’Orto, Executive Producer for the MTV Europe Music Awards:

“This year’s Awards will be remembered as the night when the world’s major music players came together against the backdrop of the fall of the Berlin Wall to celebrate music, freedom and the birth of a new age in Europe.”

U2 plans to give away tickets on a first-come, first-served basis at u2.com and via MTV’s website.

Besides the Berlin Wall show, the band recently announced more tour dates for 2010:

• Oct. 28 Vancouver, BC @ BC Place w/ Black Eyed Peas
• Nov. 5 Berlin, Germany @ Brandenburg Gate
• June 6 Anaheim, CA @ Angel Stadium
• June 16 Oakland, CA @ Oakland-Alameida County Coliseum
• June 20 Seattle, WA @ Qwest Field
• June 23 Edmonton, AB @ Commonwealth Stadium
• June 30 East Lansing, MI @ Spartan Stadium
• July 3 Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre
• July 6 Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field
• July 9 Miami, FL @ Land Shark Stadium
• July 12 Philadelphia, PA @ Lincoln Financial Field
• July 16 Montreal, QC @ TBA
• July 19 New York, NY @ New Meadowlands Stadium
• Aug. 10 Frankfurt, Germany @ Commerzbank Arena
• Aug. 12 Hannover, Germany @ AWD Arena
• Aug. 15-16 Horsens, Denmark @ Casa Arena
• Aug. 20-21 Helsinki, Finland @ Olympiastadion
• Aug. 25 Moscow, Russia @ Luzhniki
• Aug. 30 Vienna, Austria @ Ernst Happel Stadium
• Sept. 3 Athens, Greece @ Olympic Stadium
• Sept. 6 Istanbul, Turkey @ Ataturk Olympic Stadium
• Sept. 15 Munich, Germany @ Olympiastadion
• Sept. 18 Paris, France @ Stade De France
• Sept. 22-23 Brussels, Belgium @ Stade Roi Baudoin
• Sept. 29 Seville, Spain @ Estadio Olimpico De La Cartuja
• Oct. 2-3 Coimbra, Portugal @ Estadio Cidade Coimbra