U2‘s Bono and the Edge on Sunday played a surprise performance in an underground metro station-turned-bomb shelter in Kyiv to raise awareness about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
“President [Zelensky] invited us to perform in Kyiv as a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people and so that’s what we’ve come to do,” U2 said in a social media post.
President @ZelenskyyUa invited us to perform in Kyiv as a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people and so that’s what we’ve come to do. — Bono and The Edge #StandWithUkraine
— U2 (@U2) May 8, 2022
The duo performed a 40-minute set that included U2’s “With or Without You”, “Desire”, “Angel of Harlem”, “Vertigo”, and a cover of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” with the word “me” replaced with “Ukraine,” according to the Irish Times. Between songs, Bono stopped to acknowledge Ukraine’s ongoing fight for freedom.
“The people in Ukraine are not just fighting for your own freedom, you are fighting for all of us who love freedom,” he told the audience, which included Ukrainian soldiers. “We pray that you will enjoy some of that peace soon.”
The U2 duo was joined by Ukrainian musicians-turned-soldiers, including singer Taras Topolya from the Ukrainian band Antytila.
In a conversation with Sky News, Bono expressed hope that the people of Russia would push president Vladimir Putin to bring the war to an end. “I think it’s one man’s war, really,” he said. “I think that the people in Russia… younger people know what’s going on. I trust in the younger people in Russia to throw this man out of his office, that is so high and is so low, right now.”
U2 has been consistently outspoken against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In April, Bono and the Edge participated in Global Citizen’s Stand Up for Ukraine livestream, where they played a rendition of “Walk On” that addressed the conflict. Bono also wrote a poem that was read aloud by Nancy Pelosi.
Speaker Pelosi reads #StPatricksDay poem by Bono, which reads in part:
“Ireland’s sorrow and pain
Is now the Ukraine
And Saint Patrick’s name now Zelenskyy.”She then introduces Riverdance. pic.twitter.com/NzPY1VP2bN
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 17, 2022
In April, the band posted a global call to action, asking the world to stand with Ukraine:
“The brave people of Ukraine are fighting for their freedom — and for ours — in the face of unspeakable violence and an unjust invasion. More than 4 million people, mostly women and children, have had to flee for their lives — a population nearly the size of Ireland. World leaders must stand up and stand by Ukrainians now … those who are fighting and those who have fled … and stand with refugees everywhere who have been forced from their homes and their lands.”
Watch video of U2’s Bono and the Edge performing in a surprise set in a subway station-turned-bomb shelter below.
Bono & The Edge – “With or Without You”
[Video: almostunrealthing]
Bono & The Edge – “Stand By Me” (Ben E. King)
[Video: Viral Beluga News]
Bono & The Edge – “Angel of Harlem”, “Stand By Me” (Ben E. King)
[Video: Война в Украине 2022.]