U2 [ tickets ] has announced 33 North American concert dates that will kick off its world tour in support of “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” (Interscope). The group’s itinerary begins on March 24 in Florida and runs through late June.

Tickets to six of the shows will go on sale to the general public on Saturday (1/13), according to tour promoter SFX Entertainment. Internet pre-sales to all six shows will be made available to registered users of the group’s official website, according to an announcement on the site.

The new tour dates, which will feature opening act PJ Harvey, mark the beginning of the U2 Elevation 2001 Tour, U2’s first tour since it wrapped up its Pop Mart outing in March of 1998.

Since the October release of its new album, U2’s only performances have been given during television appearances and at a New York City club last month. The group also gave a September performance from the rooftop of a Dublin, Ireland, hotel to mark the release of the new album’s No. 1 single, “Beautiful Day.”

“Beautiful Day” was recently nominated for three Grammy awards, including Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or a Group.

“All That You Can’t Leave Behind” is the follow-up to the 1997’s “Pop” (Island). The latter album found the band performing some uncharacteristically dance-oriented fare that met with mixed reviews from fans and critics alike. Many have hailed the new release as a return to the Irish group’s rock roots.

The new disc debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and was certified platinum last month by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipping over 1 million copies since its release.

A European tour will be announced soon, according to SFX.

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"Elevation Tour" ticket sales info and show updates are available at liveDaily's U2 Tour Bulletin page.