Here’s How Much You Need To Save Weekly To Watch U2 Live In Manila

6 min read By eCompareMo on August 2, 2019

Local U2 fans have finally found what they’re looking for, as the iconic Irish band announced a Philippine leg for their Joshua Tree Tour. After weeks of announcing their instantly sold-out Singapore concert, Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. will rock the country for the first time.

The concert will be on December 11 at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan. While the show is still several months away, tickets will be available to the public in September.

The first round of ticket sales on September 1 to 3 will be exclusive to U2.com subscribers.

Meanwhile, the second and third tranches will be for Smart subscribers (September 4) and the general public (September 5), respectively.

U2’s performance in the Philippines will be part of the Joshua Tree Tour, which kicked off in 2017. The series of concerts serves as a celebration of the band’s inarguably most iconic album, The Joshua Tree, which celebrated its 30th anniversary two years ago.

The Joshua Tree is widely regarded as one of the finest records not only in the band’s sprawling discography but of all time too. It features some of the U2’s best songs such as “With or Without You” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” among others.

If the idea of them playing the entire album doesn’t convince you, we don’t know what will.

Currently, you have a little over a month to put your house in order to be able to fork out the moolah for the tickets. Don’t worry, since we’re here to help.

If you really want to see U2 live in Manila, here’s all you have to do, pronto.

U2 Manila concert ticket prices

If you’ve been reading up to this point, then you’re probably wondering already how far you want to be away from the stage. To help you decide how much you have to save up, here are the ticket prices for the different areas:

You might be wondering why the VIP standing section nearest to the stage is cheaper than other sections such as lower box areas. According to a report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the VIP section is “for U2 fan club subscribers” who will be the first ones to have access to these seats at lower ticket prices.

Keep in mind that the ticket prices posted above are merely the base prices and other surcharges like taxes and service fees are not taken into account yet.

(Read: Music Licensing In The Philippines: How To Legally Use Copyrighted Songs)

U2 can buy it

A few years ago, we gave you a 20-week game plan on how you could make your Coldplay concert dreams come true. While it’s much easier to save up for a Coldplay ticket, now for U2, you only have one month and some change.

If you’re worried that you won’t be able to make it, keep your cool. We still have a template you can borrow so you can have enough money to watch U2.

Here’s a weekly target budget if you want to break down your objective into more actionable bits:

With the best seats in the venue belong to the VIP standing section, we highly suggest you train your eyes somewhere else because they hardcore U2 fans will definitely go for these.

To help you carefully budget your money for U2 tickets, we have some suggestions on the steps you need to take to save money every week.

Week 1: Easy peasy

• Time to ghost your coworkers and skip team lunches for now. They’ll understand.
• It’s tempting to use Angkas/Grab nowadays, especially with the rain. Stay away from temptation if you badly want to see Bono and company.
• Airplane seat sales are tempting but a trip to Vietnam or Thailand won’t get you to Philippine Arena on December 11.
• Time to uninstall Lazada, Shopee, Beauty MNL, and other e-commerce apps.
• Now is the perfect time to go cold turkey on your habits. That’s a lot of savings.

Week 2: Intermediate money hacks

• Remember those 7-Eleven and SM Advantage Card points you’ve been racking up? Time to use them for extra savings.
• Start eating breakfast. This way, you don’t have to spend that much on lunch.
• You have more than enough books you can read. Maybe put them up on Carousell or Facebook Marketplace for sale.
• Be a “raket scientist” and look for a side gig that pays weekly, no matter how paltry the pay is.
• Did you know that for the price of a Grande Frappuccino you can buy 250 grams of good Robusta coffee beans? Make the switch and save yourself the trip to Starbucks.

(Read: 5 Ways To Train Your Brain To Save, Not Splurge)

Week 3: Turning pro

• If you have loose change, put them in a jar or somewhere you won’t be tempted to spend them.
• Thank god it’s Friday…and you would rather stay at home than drink with friends, right? Right?!
• Set a budget on what you can spend for the day. Carry only the cash you need for the day.
• If you’re in a relationship, talk to your SO about it and skip the dates for now. If you’re single, well, you just dodged a financial bullet.

Week 4: Extreme peso pinchers

• Is your destination walkable? If the distance from point A to point B is less than what the minimum fare covers, maybe you should just take a hike.
• Take advantage of your coworkers with vehicles and hitch with them. Just return the favor after the concert.
• Crunch time means you should give up the comforts of UV Express and airconditioned buses in favor of hot jeepneys and crowded trains. Sorry.
• Soda, energy drinks, juices? Not only that they add inches on your waistline, but they also drain you of money you can use for the concert.
• When you go to the grocery to grab supplies, only buy the essentials and stick with some generic brands for some items like cooking oil, tissue paper, and others. Or you could just do your shopping at a wet market.

If you do things right, you’ll have enough money to see U2 live in December. But if you decide to not be mindful of your expenses, the concert goes on, well…with or without you.

Sources: Rappler, U2.com, The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Concerts