According to U2gigs.com “Rumour has it that U2’s Australian and New Zealand concert dates will be officially announced this weekend, as a major story in the Sunday newspapers”.

The claim is supported by a fairly realistic looking promotional tour poster has appeared online in several U2 forums.

While it would be highly unusual for a promoter to announce a massive Australian tour on the same day that the media will be buzzing with the results of a federal election, the poster does seem to back the idea that a tour announcement is imminent.

As the site notes: “If dates are being announced then, or early next week, you would think promotional posters would also be prepared to place throughout major cities, as per usual.”

Although Australian stadiums are already very busy in December hosting shows by Gorillaz, Muse, The Eagles and Bon Jovi, the ‘leaked’ U2 dates don’t clash with any of these previously announced stadium tour dates, which could grant the poster some credibility.

According to the poster U2 will be playing these dates:
Wednesday 1st December – Etihad Stadium, Melbourne
Wednesday 8th December – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Monday 13th December – ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Saturday 18th December 18 – Subiaco Oval, Perth

If the dates on the poster are to be believed U2 will be visiting Perth for the first time since visiting the city as part of the Popmart tour in Febuary 1998.

So is the poster a well crafted hoax, or a genuine leak?