Last Saturday I saw U2 for the first time Denver's Invesco Stadium at Mile High. The 360 Tour is a telling title, as the show is staged in the round. The entire stadium filled to the brim, save for a few small sections with equipment, and the stage centerpiece, nicknamed "The Claw," was unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. The stage design includes a 60-ton, 888-screen, 500,000 pixel LED video unit that expands to seven stories tall, suspended from the central 164 foot Claw structure.

The screen which takes 120 trucks to haul and eight days to set up, was created by Hoberman Associates, the masterminds behind the infinitely entertaining collapsable Hoberman Sphere found in science center and museum shops around the world. Hoberman teamed up with Innovative Designs and Barco to bring the massive screen to life. See the videos below for information from the creators, time lapse and more.

Construction of the screen by Barco:

An interview with creators Willie Williams, Mark Fisher, Chuck Hoberman, Carl Rijsbrack:

Time lapse of stage construction:

You can see a video with some of the Denver performance here, which includes some construction time lapse, views of the truck fleet and performance clips.

Some other posts you might enjoy on our design blog:

The Happy Machine by Physalia Motion Graphics Studio
Awesome Audio and Design from Astro Gaming Headphones
Behind the Scenes with the Man Your Man Could Smell Like

Via Core77