Moncton looks to future acts after U2 concert

Moncton is still cleaning up after the weekend's giant U2 concert but the city's mayor is already looking to the next outdoor event.

The iconic Irish rock band drew 75,000 fans to the Magnetic Hill outdoor concert site on Saturday night to cap off its 360 Tour that travelled to 30 countries on five continents.

Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc said that outdoing U2 will not be an easy task for the city.

"I don't know how we're going to top it, but I believe that we will," LeBlanc said.

U2 is the latest in a long line of big-name bands that have played at the outdoor concert site. The mega-concerts started with the Rolling Stones, who were followed by Bon Jovi, AC/DC, the Eagles and Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.

LeBlanc said it's no longer a case of the city trying to attract big names now that bands, such as U2, have put the facility on the map.

"There's one act that is coming to Moncton as a result of asking the promoter, where is this Moncton that U2 is having their finale in. And now this particular entertainer is coming to Moncton or at least is pretty likely that he is," the mayor said.

Fans are now speculating on who the next guest could be. The mayor is hoping Bruce Springsteen will come to town.

Meanwhile, others are hoping for more current acts.

Thomas Raffy said speculation as to who will come next year began shortly after the final encore.

"Coldplay. Walking to the buses and shuttles and cars and lot of people were speculating, I heard a lot of Coldplay," Raffy said.

Dominique Fontaine has been to many of the mega concerts at Magnetic Hill and has stopped under-estimating the city's ability to attract big names to the venue.

"I thought that after the Rolling Stones, Moncton was not going to be able to top it but Moncton has outdone itself," Fontaine said.