Fans were provided a live high-definition streaming of the concert at the Benners Hotel, nearby the venue St. James' Church, among various other locations that were connected to a fiber optic network.

[8][9] Tickets for the Taking Back the Cities Tour were initially available to only those who signed up for the Snow Patrol mailing list on or before 2 October 2008 due to the intimate nature of the four shows.

[13] Tickets for the UK & Ireland Arena Tour initially went on pre-sale exclusively from the official website from 31 October, 9 am until 1 November midnight.

[18] General sale tickets were available through phone, website, or the venue box office one day before the event (18 November) from 9 am and could only be purchased with a credit card.

[18][19] One card holder could only buy two tickets, and the system was designed such that it'd reject attempts of subsequent bookings that bore the same e-mail, phone number or address.

[20] Universal Music Australia also ran a competition for fans where they had to buy the album or the single "Take Back the City" from iTunes or JB Hi-Fi and write in telling a reason why they needed to see the band.

[48] KNRK radio station of Portland also held a competition where listeners had to answer to a question, and the winner would be sent backstage at Snow Patrol's concert at The Schnitz on 13 October 2009.

[51] Each purchased ticket will contain a code that will enable the buyer to access a free live download of "The Lightning Strike",[52] recorded during the band's UK & Ireland Arena Tour of February–March 2009.

The team with the most correct answers at the end will fly to London to see one of the concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, with a certain part of travel cost paid.

The band also asked local schools, and got kids to draw pictures on the theme of the album title, which was displayed in the entrance lobbies of the chosen venues.

Snow Patrol undertook a small promo tour of Australia in November 2008 to celebrate the album reaching #6 on the Australian charts and getting certified Gold.

At the Bowery Ballroom concert, the band invited a brother-sister duo they had found on YouTube to sing "Set the Fire to the Third Bar".

[74] Ahead of the Snow Patrol's UK & Ireland Arena Tour, the band played a one-off intimate show at the Apple Store on Regent Street in London on Friday 13 February.

[77][78] On 9 March, Gary Lightbody & Nathan Connolly appeared as guests in Iain Archer's set at the Ulster Hall, Belfast, which was hosting "Do You Remember the First Time?"

[98] He picked up a couple of copies of his favorite book, Grab Onto Me Tightly as if I Knew the Way by Bryan Charles, among others for friends[98][99] Lightbody later wrote a blog for the official website describing his Portland experience, and also revealed plans of side-projects Listen... Tanks!

[115] The band visited a south London studio to rehearse the reworked songs,[116][117] where they experimented with styles as country, motown and heavy metal.

[124] Other guests included members of Belle & Sebastian, Teenage Fanclub and Idlewild,[125] harpist Jennifer Crook (on vocals and harp) and longtime friend Johnny McDaid.

[126][127] At the Royal Albert Hall concert on 24 November, Snow Patrol brought in actor James Corden to sing the female vocal parts on "Set the Fire to the Third Bar".

[133] Gary Lightbody and Nathan Connolly personally joined Chris Moyles on his radio show to announce details of the event.

The band played their set on the main stage on the last day, after which they joined Coldplay as a support act on their Viva la Vida Tour.

[147] After the band's concert at the Street Gig in Dettenheim, lead singer Gary Lightbody broke a rib in a go-karting accident.

He went on the explain the exact details of what had happened: "At the very last corner, I skidded to miss Jonny (Quinn) and I smashed into the side of the wall and actually came out of the go-kart.

[159] Snow Patrol played an intimate acoustic set and held a signing session at Grimey's Record Store, Nashville, ahead of their appearance at the Sommet Center, supporting Coldplay.

[164] To promote the release of "If There's a Rocket Tie Me to It" in the Netherlands, Snow Patrol played an intimate show at Desmet Studios[168] after supporting U2 on the second night at the Amsterdam ArenA.

[175] As promotion for the then unreleased album, in September 2008, Snow Patrol played an intimate acoustic set, a part of Live Lounge Tour 2008.

[177] Just before heading to Australia in November 2008 to do a short promo tour, Snow Patrol visited Berlin (where a part of the album was recorded) to play an exclusive one-off show.

The band's set included cover versions of most famous songs that were recorded in the studio over the years: "Teenage Kicks", "New Sensation", "Ray of Light" and "You Really Got Me".

[180] Lightbody felt "honoured" to be playing at the studio, which has seen performances from artists like David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles in the past.

[188] In October 2009, Snow Patrol played at a headlining set at the second annual fundraiser for ONEXONE, a charitable organization committed to fighting health issues and preserving the lives of children globally.

Cole rehearsed with the band one night before the show and sang Martha Wainwright's vocal parts on "Set the Fire to the Third Bar".