IRON MAIDEN's South American promoter Phil Rodriguez (from Evenpro / WBI) has issued the following apology to fans regarding the band's upcoming tour:

"As Iron Maiden's Brazil promoters, we are stumped by a new puzzle. How do you fit the Iron Maiden army of Brazilian fans into the venues here?

We know you can't fit a square in a circle but we have never seen such demand and now understand what an impossible task it is to fit ALL the Maiden fans into the venues in Brazil for Maiden's 2008 Tour. At record setting speeds, after going on sale earlier this month, the dates in Sao Paolo - 42,000, Curitiba - 20,000 and Porto Alegre - 13,000 sold out already... over two months in advance of the concerts. And no-one has ever even sold out Curitiba in advance before... no-one!

We apologize to the Brazilian fans for not being able to figure out the riddle sooner. We now know the answer... MORE DATES ...or build bigger stadiums for Iron Maiden concerts!

It is now clear to us that Iron Maiden must return in 2009 to be able to accommodate all those fans that sadly will be left out of these concerts... because it will take too long to build bigger stadiums!!!!!

And all this is following a protest yesterday by Maiden's Venezuelan battalion of fans outside our offices in Caracas demanding to know why we weren't organizing a concert there!! We did try but couldn't fit it in the band's schedule! 09 too we hope! And with Maiden's first visit to Bogota already near to the 40,000 sell out with Chile and Argentina following strongly, it appears very obvious that South America loves Iron Maiden with a vengeance. So as Maiden's promoters we promise fans there that we will make every effort to attempt to satisfy more of the incredible demand next time."

Iron Maiden's Somewhere Back In Time World Tour 2008 schedule is as follows:

February

1 - Mumbai, India - Bandra Kurla Complex
4 - Perth, Australia - Burswood Dome
6 - Melbourne, Australia - Rod Laver Arena
7 - Melbourne, Australia - Rod Laver Arena
9 - Sydney, Australia - Acer Arena
10 - Sydney, Australia - Acer Arena
12 - Brisbane, Australia - Entertainment Centre
15 - Yokohama, Japan - Pacifico Yokohama
16 - Tokyo, Japan - Messe
19 - Los Angeles, CA - The Forum
21 - Guadalajara, Mexico - Auditoria Telmex
22 - Monterrey, Mexico - Monterrey Arena
24 - Mexico City, Mexico - Sports Palace
26 - San Jose, Costa Rica - Saprisa Stadium
28 - Bogota, Columbia - Simon Bolivar Park

March

2 - Sao Paulo, Brazil - Palmeiras Stadium
4 - Curitiba, Brazil - Pedreira Paulo Leminski
5 - Porto Allegre, Brazil - Gigantinho
7 - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Ferrofcarril Oeste Stadium
9 - Santiago, Chile - Pista Atletica
12 - Puerto Rico - San Juan Coliseo
14 - New Jersey, USA - Izod Center (formerly Continental Airlines Arena)
16 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre

June

27 - Bologna, Italy - Arena Parco Nord (Gods Of Metal Festival)

July

1 - Paris, France - Ominisport De Bercy Arena
2 - Paris, France - Ominisport De Bercy Arena
5 - London, UK - Twickenham Rugby Stadium
9 - Lisbon, Portugal - Parque do Tejo ( Super Bock Super Rock Festival)

11/12 - Spain - tba?

16 - Stockholm, Sweden - Stockholm Stadium
18 - Helsinki, Finland - Helsinki Olympic Stadium
19 - Tampere, Finland - Ratinan Stadion
22 - Trondheim, Norway - Lerkendalstadium
24 - Oslo, Norway - Valle Hovin
26 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Ullevi Stadium
27 - Horsens, Denmark - Horsens Gods Bane Pladsen
31 - Wachen Open Air Festival - Wacken, Germany

August

2 - Athens, Greece - Terra Vibe Park
4 - Bucharest, Romania - Cotroceni Football Stadium
7 - Warsaw, Poland - Gwardia Stadium
8 - Prague, Czech Republic - Slavia Football Stadium
10 - Split, Croatia - Split City Stadium