To mark the 50th anniversary of U2, Island Records has today announced a very special U2 & Guinness release of an exclusive one-off limited-edition run of Carnaval De Luz on Pearl White Marble 1LP Vinyl on November 13th, 2026.
In 1978, four young musicians calling themselves The Hype changed their band’s name to enter a Guinness-sponsored talent competition in Limerick. Now called U2, Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. came away with the top prize of IR£500 and a recording studio session, a defining moment in the band’s story.
This U2 & Guinness collaboration to commemorate the band’s 50th anniversary sees two Dublin-born global icons come together for a definitive collector’s edition of U2’’s highly-anticipated forthcoming studio album, Carnaval De Luz, featuring the 12-track album pressed on heavyweight pearl white marble vinyl; a 16-page booklet featuring lyrics, photography and exclusive album imagery; and a double-sided Guinness Collectors Art print by Bono.
Stephen O’Kelly, Guinness Global Brand Director said: “Guinness has always been a catalyst for bringing people together, driven by a profound belief in communion. When you look at U2’s legacy over the last fifty years, they share that same belief – knowing that the fans aren’t just an audience, they are the heartbeat. We are incredibly proud of this collaboration and honoured to create this one-of-a-kind piece of physical history for the fans. Giving back to local community is also important to us both, we’re delighted to donate a percentage of all vinyl and t-shirt sales to the Guinness Dublin 8 Community Fund.”
Island Records and Guinness have today also announced that a contribution of sales from Carnaval De Luz, Limited-Edition U2 & Guinness Exclusive will be donated to the Guinness Dublin 8 Community Fund.
Carnaval De Luz, Limited-Edition U2 & Guinness Exclusive will be available as follows: U2.com subscribers can avail of the opportunity to pre-order online from November 4th, for release on November 13th. A limited number will also be made available for physical purchase at Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Guinness Open Gate Brewery, London from November 13th. A further limited number will be available for purchase physically from Guinness Open gate Brewery, Chicago, US from November 20th.
The partnership will also see two limited-edition U2 & Guinness t-shirts made available to mark the release of Carnaval De Luz, from November 13th.
Carnaval De Luz – the 16th studio album from U2 and the first album of new material from the band in nine years – out on November 13th, 2026. Watch the Anton Corbijn-directed video for latest track The Greatest Show On Earth HERE
About Carnaval De Luz, Limited-Edition U2 & Guinness Exclusive, Pearl White Marble Vinyl:
- The New 12-track studio album pressed on 1 x 12” 180g Heavyweight Exclusive Pearl White Marble Vinyl
- Includes double-sided Exclusive Guinness Collectors Art print by Bono, on Heavy-Card with metallic Pantone Gold
- Gatefold outer-sleeve with Alternative ‘Black, White and Gold’ Artwork and Gloss Finish, featuring Embossed album title in Pantone Gold
- 16-page booklet with Pantone Gold text featuring Lyrics, Photography and Exclusive album imagery.
- Printed inner sleeve.
- Bespoke full-colour printed vinyl labels.
About Carnaval De Luz:
Recorded all over the place and produced by Jacknife Lee, Carnaval De Luz is a collection of 12 songs exploring themes of spirituality, friendship, freedom and endurance in the face of dark, encroaching forces. Sonically, there are echoes of the band’s most experimental work combined with some strict songwriting in the shape of ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’, ‘Glorify’ and ‘Midnight Sunshine’, as well as the 2mins 35second homage to early surf-punk insolence that is ‘Silencio’.
The roots of Carnaval De Luz can be traced directly to U2’s two surprise-released and critically acclaimed six-track EPs of early 2026, recorded during the same creative period as the new album. Those releases, Days of Ash and Easter Lily, followed the liturgical calendar, and so Carnaval De Luz sits, stands and dances before them in timeline. Carnival, a celebration of the flesh, ‘carne’, before the denial that is Lent, a period of reflection, and the rebirth of Easter. The song connecting the album and two EPs is the final track on the new album, ‘Torn’, a duet between Bono and the late, great Dolly Parton, in what has sadly turned out to be her last recorded vocal performance. Co-written by U2, Parton and Johnny McDaid, it’s a tender country song detailing broken family ties that holds wider resonances.
Carnaval De Luz is released in the band’s 50th year, 2026, one in which U2 will have released 24 new songs. The album also sees collaborations from Brian Eno (co-writing and synthesizers on ‘Go (Carnaval De Luz)’, ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ and ‘Can’t Stop Us Now’), Martin Garrix (co-writing on ‘Glorify’), and Daniel Lanois (playing pedal steel on ‘Torn’); with additional production from Ryan Tedder on ‘Silencio’.
Listen to first single ‘Street of Dreams’HERE, watch music video HERE.
Listen to second single ‘Silencio’ HERE, watch music video HERE.
About Guinness:
The Guinness Company was established in 1759, when Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease on St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin. Brewed using four natural ingredients, water, barley (malted & roasted), hops and yeast, Guinness is the world’s most popular stout. The iconic beer is brewed in 50 countries worldwide and sold in over 180. The most Guinness is sold in Great Britain, Ireland, USA, Nigeria and Cameroon. All Guinness consumed in Ireland and Great Britain is brewed at St. James’s Gate Brewery. More information can be found at www.guinness.com Enjoy Guinness Sensibly. Visit www.drinkaware.ie
About The Guinness Dublin 8 Community Fund:
The Dublin 8 Community Fund supports charities, nonprofits and local community and voluntary groups based in Dublin 8. The Fund makes grants directly to local Dublin 8 organisations which demonstrate a strong impact and benefit to the local communities of Dublin 8. The aim of the fund will be to empower positive change that will help build a brighter future for the D8 community. This is a €1 million grassroots grant initiative launched by Diageo Ireland, Guinness, and the Guinness Storehouse in partnership with Community Foundation Ireland (who manage and regulate it).
About U2:
Formed in Dublin in 1976, U2 has toured the globe countless times, released 15 studio albums, sold 175 million albums and won numerous awards, including 22 Grammys and Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience award. U2 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005 and have twice been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. U2’s fourteenth studio album Songs Of Experience – the companion release to 2014’s Songs Of Innocence – was released in December 2017 debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200, setting U2 apart as the only band in history to have topped the chart in four successive decades. Acknowledged as one of the best live acts in the world, U2 has always – since their earliest days, including the industry-defining ZOO TV Tour which broke the mold in 1991 – consistently pushed the boundaries of live performance, with ground-breaking stage shows that embrace the latest in technology and innovation most recently with U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere which lit up Las Vegas for a critically-acclaimed 40-date run to launch the world’s most state-of-the-art venue, Sphere. U2 is set to hit the road again with Carnaval De Luz presents: The Greatest Show On Earth, a world tour that will see Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. return to select stadiums in 2027 and beyond. Carnaval De Luz – the sixteenth studio album from U2 and the first album of new material from the band in nine years – will be released on November 13th, 2026, on Island Records.
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