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Stones Set For European Tour, Super Bowl

The Rolling Stones have big plans for 2006, with a Super Bowl XL halftime performance and a European leg of their A Bigger Bang tour on the schedule. Summer European stadium dates will begin May 27 in Barcelona with confirmed shows on tap through an Aug. 29 stop in Cardiff, Wales.

Additional shows are yet to be announced in Russia, Greece, Croatia, Serbia/Montenegro, Portugal, Denmark, Switzerland and Ireland. Tickets begin going on sale Dec. 3, but ticketholders can also take advantage of a pre-sale via American Express.

As with the band's North American stadium shows, the Stones are making several hundred seats for each European performance available within a special area built into the stage. The North American portion of the tour, which is on pace to shatter all previous box office records, runs through Dec. 3 in Memphis.

Before the European run, the Stones will be the star attraction at the Sprint Super Bowl XL Halftime Show, set for Feb. 5 at Detroit's Ford Field.

The Super Bowl annually draws the largest television viewing audience of any broadcast. Last year's game, which featured Paul McCartney as the halftime performer in Jacksonville, Fla., garnered 133 million viewers in the United States, according to the National Football League. Outside the United States, the game will be broadcast to a potential worldwide audience of 1 billion in more than 225 countries and territories.