KEY POINTS:
Thanks for waiting, Bono told his New Zealand fans, before rocking a crowd of 40,000 at Mt Smart Stadium tonight, nine months after postponing the Vertigo tour.
"Hardly anyone cashed in their tickets, which was amazing," Bono said earlier, when he flew in by helicopter for a sound check.
The crowd were similarly appreciative from the moment U2 took the stage for a Kiwi singalong just after 9.15pm - Bono wearing sunglasses, a Warriors team logo on his jacket and calling a merry "hello, hello, hello".
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The supergroup launched into City of Blinding Lights just as the skies cleared above, and inserted a few lines of Four Seasons in One Day into the song Elevation.
Then Beautiful Day included crowd-pleasing references to the land of the long white cloud, Cape Reinga and aroha.
One Tree Hill, up next, was dedicated to U2's former New Zealand roadie the late Greg Carroll.
The Irish mega-group will be back for seconds tomorrow night.
- NZHERALD STAFF
