U2 Conference Postponed Due to Economy

The first ever academic conference on rock stars U2 was slated to be held in May 2009, to correspond with what the band has declared as "our year". It was called "U2- The Hype and the Feedback" and was to explore the band's influence on today's culture, politics, religion, and the music industry. A tentative schedule had been posted and presenters had been accepted. Registration opened last month at a little over $300 per person for the entire weekend. The Marriot Marquee at Times Square was offering discounts to conference attendees and was the venue of choice for the conference itself.

Yesterday, conference director Scott Calhoun announced on the official blog of the conference and through email that the conference has been postponed. Cedarville University was the principal sponsor of the one-of-a-kind event. With the historic downturn in the economy, they no longer have the funds to support it. Also, attendees and presenters are strapped for funds to travel to the event. Therefore, the university, Scott Calhoun, and others involved in the organisation of the conference have made the difficult decision to postpone it.

Currently, there is no consensus on when or where the event will eventually take place. Those involved do hope to be able to hold it before the year is up, but all depends on at least a partial recovery of the economy. Registrants will be fully refunded. They will then be asked to reregister when the time comes for it. Presenters will be emailed relevant information later this week as to what to expect.

Scott Calhoun stresses that this is not the end of the idea. It will take place eventually and he apologises to everyone for the inconvenience and disappointment that the postponement might cause.