TWO huge American artists are set to appear at Croke Park in Dublin next year.
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band are being lined up for two gigs in April, while country singer Garth Brooks is in talks to play the city later in the summer.
Virgin Media's political correspondent confirmed the reports of Springsteen's return, and suggested that Ed Sheeran could also make an appearance in Ireland in 2022.
"We understand the event licence being sought for Croke Park for two dates next April is for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - there’s also a prospect of Ed Sheeran, though other Irish venues are being examined for him for 2022," they said.
Springsteen meanwhile recently told fans that he's about to go out on tour with The E Street Band in 2022.
"We'll be touring next year if everything goes well," Springsteen said during an interview with BBC Radio.
He also previously hinted at a return to Ireland during an appearance on The Late Late Show with Ryan Tubridy a few months ago.
"My antenna tells me that will not happen before 2022 and I’d count ourselves lucky if it happens then. I don’t believe the virus is going to go away, I just believe we’re going to find better ways to handle it. Hopefully a vaccine, or therapeutics,” the 71-year-old said.
Springsteen last appeared in Dublin in 2016 when he played two nights at GAA HQ and The Boss is confident that despite the fears of Covid-19, he’ll be back on these shores soon.
As for the rumoured Garth Brooks gigs, Virgin Media are reporting that the country singer is in talks to appear and that instead of playing the April dates, Brooks will play three nights in September in the GAA headquarters.
In 2014, Brooks announced he was coming to Croke Park to play five consecutive gigs, but ended up cancelling them all due to a dispute with the planners.
Brooks was initially scheduled for just two dates, but promised to play three, then four and soon, 400,000 people had tickets to five gigs.
The trouble was, he didn't have a license to play all five, and was forced to pull the plug, prompting under stable outrage among Irish country music fans.
