Copenhagen in Denmark will be the first European date of U2's Elevation 2001 Tour.

U2.COM can exclusively announce details of the sixteen cities to host arena shows on the European leg of the band's upcoming tour this July and August - culminating in an August homecoming gig at Slane Castle, outside Dublin.

The first tickets for shows go on sale this weekend - and, as usual, registered members of U2.COM will have an opportunity to participate in an advance sale of a limited number of tickets for each show.

The full list of cities on the European leg of Elevation 2001 announced today is :

JULY 6th, COPENHAGEN;
JULY 9th, STOCKHOLM;
JULY 12th, COLOGNE;
JULY 15th, MUNICH;
JULY 17th, PARIS;
JULY 21st, IMOLA;
JULY 23rd, ZURICH;
JULY 26th, VIENNA;
JULY 29th, BERLIN;
JULY 31st, UTRECHT

AUGUST 5th, ANTWERP;
AUGUST 8th, BARCELONA;
AUGUST 11th, MANCHESTER;
AUGUST 14th, BIRMINGHAM;
AUGUST 18th, LONDON;
AUGUST 25th, SLANE, IRELAND.

The first tickets to go on sale on Friday 9th March are for the UK concerts and prices are: Birmingham NEC - £32.50 and £40; Manchester MEN - £32.50 and £40 London Earl's Court - £37.50 and £45.

Tickets for Utrecht (Prins van Oranj) and the Slane Castle show go on sale on Saturday 10th March and all other on sale dates will be announced shortly. Slane is a 10 hour event with support from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Coldplay, Kelis, JJ72 and Relish and tickets are IR£36.50. All tickets are subject to a booking fee.

Tickets for the UK dates can be booked via credit card on 0870 243 9009 (24 hour), online at www.buyupfront.com, direct from the venue box offices and from the usual local outlets. Tickets for Slane can be booked by telephone on 1890 925 100 (Republic of Ireland) or 0870 243 4455 (Northern Ireland and UK.)

Registered members of U2.com will have an opportunity to participate in an advance sale for a limited number of tickets to shows - and will receive an e-mail direct with booking information later this week.

The Elevation Tour kicks off in Miami on March 24th. The US leg runs through to the end of June taking in 34 cities and features support from PJ Harvey.