By Neil McCormick, The Telegraph

Early on in discussions for the launch of the latest U2 tour, Bono floated the possibility that they would become the first band to play a gig on the moon. Larry shot that idea down however. He pointed out that there would be no atmosphere...

Ah, the old ones are ... well, not the best ... but the old ones, anyway.

Ever since U2 blew the possibilities for live event staging wide open with their multi-media Zoo TV tour, they have been caught in a peculiar trap: how to satisfy audience expectations for hi-tech, cutting edge spectacle while rooting the experience in the very human, emotional contact with fans that is at the heart of their appeal. In other words, how to make it bigger and more intimate at the same time.

At last night's Camp Nou show, Bono wore a special leather jacket with 240 built-in lasers, designed by Moritz Waldemeyer. The lasers were designed along the silhouette of his jacket and they can be seen in the video below as U2 performed "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)". One thing that is uncertain however is, did U2 fans receive any eye damage from Bono's jacket?

Brian Boyd, Irish Times

"Ground control to Major Tom," sang David Bowie as the four members of U2 walked onto the stage of Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium last night to begin their "360 Degree" world tour. It was a fitting choice of introduction: on this tour U2 are unveiling a revolutionary new stage design -- "the Claw" -- which looks like a spaceship held up by four spindly legs.

This configuration means there is no stage as such, allowing the band to play in the round. The impression you get is that the band are sitting in the palm of the audience's hand.

Waiting for night to fall in Barcelona so they could show off their impressive light show, the band didn't take to the stage until 10 p.m. local time but they were ecstatically received by a 80,000 crowd. Kicking off with a muscular "Breathe" from the new album, they then turned it up to 11 for "No Line on the Horizon," "Get On Your Boots" and "Magnificent."

Pierre Perrone, Independent (London)

Nothing, not the sneak preview footage on the band's website, nor the pictures on the front pages of the Spanish dailies Qué! or La Vanguardia can prepare you for the monstrous sight that welcomed 90,000 rabid U2 fans inside the home of Barcelona FC.

The aliens have truly landed on the hallowed turf of the European and La Liga champions and winners of La Copa Del Rey. As envisioned and co-designed by Mark Fisher and Willie Williams, the stage for U2's 360° tour looks like a spaceship or a supersized version of HG Wells' War of the Worlds tripod Martian fighting machines with a dash of Catalan visionary architect Antoni Gaudi thrown in for good measure.

It certainly affords every single one of the capacity crowd inside Europe's biggest stadium a clear view of the biggest band in the world returning to the live arena after four years, the longest hiatus in a career that has already lasted three decades and seen them sell 150 million albums.

Melanie Finn, Evening Herald

Soccer star Damien Duff partied the night away with a gang of pals from Dublin as U2 rocked Barcelona on their opening night.

Clad in a distinctive Cavalli shirt and a pair of gleaming white jeans, the Newcastle player was in flying form at the official aftershow party in the exclusive Arts Hotel.

Sporting a dark tan from a recent holiday, Damien was thrilled to see the Irish stars kickstart their world tour.

Gorgeous Phantom FM presenter Michelle Doherty wasn't stuck for admirers as she caught up on all the gossip with old pals.

Ben Harding, Reuters

BARCELONA, June 30 (Reuters) - U2 kicked off their first tour in three years on Tuesday, rocking a raucous Barcelona crowd of around 90,000 and reaching for the stars with a live link-up to the International Space Station.

Featuring one of the biggest concert stages ever built, the U2 360 Tour will visit 31 cities across Europe and North America and entertain an estimated three million people. More dates are expected to be announced in 2010.

Fans surrounded the circular platform inside Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium, allowing for a bigger audience and lower average ticket prices during the global recession.

"All around Spain, all around the world, things are difficult. Thank you for coming back to us again and again," Bono said during the high octane show.

U2's unearthly new tour set-up, consisting of The Claw and its revolving stage, makes its debut tonight at Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium - it promises to be a whole new live experience

Brian Boyd, Irish Times

IT LOOKS like a gigantic prop from a sci-fi film, costs about €100 million, is affectionately known as The Claw and all things going well will change the way we experience the live concert tour. When U2 begin their "360-degree" world tour tonight in the Barcelona's Camp Nou, they will be taking not just a huge financial risk with their radical stage set-up but perhaps setting in train a new idea for stage configuration that will have many imitators in the future.

Speaking about the tour, Bono says The Claw was his idea - an engineering challenge he had been working on for the past seven years. "The Claw is all to do with how you can play outdoors without using a proscenium stage with a big bank of speakers on the left and right. Every outdoor stage show you've ever seen uses that configuration. This idea we're now working on will mean more people can fit into the shows, there will be better sight lines and everyone will be closer to the action," he says.

With one day before the opening show, a rather official-looking video from Mark Haefeli Productions has been released on Youtube. It features stage construction, soundbites from band manager Paul McGuinness and tour producer Arthur Fogel.

At Camp Nou in Barcelona, U2 manager Paul McGuinness and head architect Mark Fischer talk for a few seconds about the impending U2 360° Tour.

Manel Fuentes of Spanish TV Station Catalan TV3 talks with Bono at Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona, Spain.