David Bowie

30th May, 1987   Stadion Feijenoord, Rotterdam

The first date of the Glass Spider world jaunt for Dave.

A Monumental and Exhausting Spectacle

This tour was famously ambitious, featuring one of the largest touring sets ever created. The centerpiece was a 60-foot-high (18.3m) giant inflatable spider with legs lit from within by 20,000 feet of color-changing lights. The sheer scale of the production was immense—the set took 43 trucks to transport.

Bowie conceived the tour as a theatrical "event," with spoken-word sections, dancers, and elaborate visuals exploring "the reality and unreality of rock". However, the tour took a considerable toll on him; he later admitted that planning and performing such an elaborate show was exhausting.