Stones to roll into Halifax, Regina and Vancouver

After weeks of rumours, the Rolling Stoneshave confirmed that they will play their first-ever concerts inRegina and Halifax this fall as part of their current world tour.

In Halifax, the Stones will perform Sept. 23 at Halifax Common, the large city park where 80,000 people gathered for a visit by Pope John Paul II in 1984.

The veteran British rockers then move on to Taylor Field in Regina, where they will play Oct. 8.

The tour also includes a stop in Vancouver's B.C. Place on Nov. 3.

Speculation in Regina and Halifax about the concerts wasfinally put to restTuesday at a news conference in Germany.

The Stones haveplayed for 4.5 million fans on the A Bigger Bang tour, which has taken them to China, Rio and Australia.Last year, they performed in Moncton for the first time, before a crowd of some 80,000 people at Magnetic Hill.

The tour, which is currently in Europe, was temporarily stalled when guitarist Keith Richards underwent emergency brain surgery after falling from a tree in Fiji earlier this year. Fifteen concerts were cancelled while he recovered, but thetour stilltook in 79.7 million ($159 million) in the first six months of this year.

The band returns to North America Sept. 20 with a date in Boston and will go on to Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas.

Halifax, Regina and Vancouverare the only Canadian datesconfirmed so far.

"Most of the shows are going to be on the big stadium stage, with fans in the balconies behind us," said singer Mick Jagger, who turns 63 on Wednesday.

"We're going to play many cities we didn't get to before and also return to some of our favourite places."

Rumours of the Stones coming to Regina and Halifax had been swirling for weeks.

Asked about those rumours Monday, Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert would only say that a Stones concert would be a big deal for his province.

"Never before in the history of the province have we been able to attract the largest show on earth," Calvert said.

"This is the largest show on earth."

Stones rumours were ignited in Halifax earlier this month after a closed-door meeting of city councillors. They voted to spend $100,000 on an outdoor rock concert to be held Sept. 23 by a band that they did not identify.

The money is for extra policing and cleanup of the outdoor concert area in central Halifax. Moncton's Stones concertcost $1.2 millionfor crowd control and cleanup.

VIP tickets for the shows in Halifax and Regina go on sale Wednesday, while tickets will be available to the general public starting July 31.

Young contemporary artists will open for the Stones, but their names have yet to be announced.