Pre-recorded messages from the International Space Station were displayed during the shows, as were sociopolitical statements from Desmond Tutu and Aung San Suu Kyi.

[4] Williams had been toying with ideas for 360-degree stadium staging for U2 for a number of years,[9] and presented sketches of a four-legged design to the group near the end of their Vertigo Tour in 2006.

[8] The stage design featured a large four-legged steel structure that held the speaker system and cylindrical video screen and hovered above the performance area.

[24] In April 2018, it was announced that the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium in Utah had reached a deal to permanently install one of the claw stages on its expanded campus; the structure was planned to be fully assembled by July 2019.

It is made up of elongated hexagonal segments mounted on a multiple pantograph system, which enables it to "open up" or spread apart vertically as an effect during the concerts.

[30] In an interview with BBC Radio, The Edge reiterated that U2 were offsetting their carbon emissions, also stating, "We'd love to have some alternative to big trucks bringing the stuff around but there just isn't one.

Sound and light equipment was packed into the fleet of trucks first during the four hours following the concert; the remainder of the time was spent deconstructing the steel structures making up the stage using four cranes.

[11] It was sponsored by BlackBerry,[22] in a move that broke U2's prior relationship with Apple Inc. and opened possibilities for collaborations between U2 and Research in Motion on mobile music experiences.

Additionally Live Nation agreed to pay for replacing the sod on the football field where the stage and floor seating was located up to a cost of $250,000.

"[23] Fans from all around the world travelled to Ireland for the band's hometown shows, leading the Gaelic Athletic Association to close their museum in Croke Park for the duration of the events due to fears over security and excessive demand.

[61] Although some artists were known to be holding back tickets from general sale and delivering them straight into the secondary market, Live Nation said that U2 did not engage in this practice.

[64] His doctors, who included noted sports physician Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt, then said Bono had a good prognosis but would need eight weeks of physical rehabilitation,[63] and McGuinness and Live Nation announced that the entire North American leg was being postponed and would be rescheduled into 2011.

[68] Bono apologised for the inconvenience to fans over their affected travel plans, but noted that it had given the band the opportunity to record new material in the studio which U2 were considering playing live.

Two songs played over the public address system preceded the band's arrival on stage—David Bowie's "Space Oddity" and an outtake from the No Line on the Horizon sessions called "Soon" (previously titled "Kingdom of Your Love").

"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" was played frequently, while early concerts featured a selection from "Angel of Harlem", "In a Little While", "Desire", and "Party Girl".

"Your Blue Room", a track from Original Soundtracks 1, made its live debut on the tour (with recorded guest vocals by Sinéad O'Connor),[21] while "Pride (In the Name of Love)" was dropped.

[76] "Breathe", "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of", and "Unknown Caller" were dropped from rotation, while "Miss Sarajevo", "I Will Follow", "Mothers of the Disappeared", "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" and "Spanish Eyes" made their tour debuts.

[77] "One Tree Hill" made its tour debut and was dedicated to the 29 miners who died in the Pike River Mine disaster; their names were shown on the screen at the conclusion of the song.

During the sixth leg of the tour in South America, the "Fish Out of Water" remix of "Even Better Than The Real Thing", later released in the 20th anniversary reissue of Achtung Baby, was revived as the show opener.

[80] "Ultraviolet" featured an elaborate staging wherein Bono wore a suit with embedded with lasers that shone through the violet lighting scheme, while singing to, around, and hanging from, an illuminated steering wheel–shaped microphone dropped from above.

At the 2 July 2011 show in Nashville, Bono invited a visually impaired fan on-stage to play "All I Want Is You" on guitar for his wife after the normal set closer "Moment of Surrender.

"Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" and "Zooropa" had not been performed by the band since the Zoo TV Tour in 1993, while "Electrical Storm", a 2002 single from The Best of 1990–2000, was played for the first time ever.

Willie Williams stated in his 27 June 2009 tour diary entry on U2.com that the band "really wants [Drowning Man] to work and it sounds great", but the rest of the setlist struggled due to the song's "beautiful melancholy".

[96] In an interview with BBC Radio, Bono stated that a second video piece had been recorded where the astronauts aboard the International Space Station sang "Your Blue Room".

[71] A NASA press release revealed that ESA astronaut Frank De Winne had recorded the final verse of the song on 18 August 2009.

[96][97] Images of the Station and of space provided to the band by NASA were presented in a video montage during the piece, recorded for the North American leg of the tour.

[99] The 25 October 2009 concert from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, U2's penultimate show of the year, was simultaneously broadcast live on YouTube and filmed for a future video release.

[110] They also praised the fact that political messages took a backseat to the music, while NBC News suggested that using the video screen to display Aung San Suu Kyi and Desmond Tutu reminded attendees of the plights of people in the developing world.

[110][111] Rolling Stone called the production a cross between Zoo TV and the Elevation Tour and noted that the design elements "all but disappear" from the band's perspective onstage.

"[97] The Washington Post stated that the visual display made the band seem invincible, but that the performance was more of an "orgy of light and sound" than a rock concert.