U2 mark triumphant last night with a rousing democracy call
Honour for Suu Kyi as Bono and the boys finish gigs
More photos:Tuesday July 28 2009
BONO beamed his own political message 360 degrees around the world last night.
U2 were men with a mission, as they sent out a call to supporters of democracy everywhere by naming imprisoned Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi Amnesty International's 'Ambassador of Conscience'.
U2, who have used their world tour to spotlight calls for her release, formally made the announcement at the last of their three-night run at Dublin's Croke Park.
This month marks the 20th anniversary of Suu Kyi's arrest and the band have encouraged fans to support the imprisoned politician by wearing masks at their gigs showing her portrait.
From the depths of the by now famous 'Claw', Bono addressed the fans drawing ever closer towards the stage.
Participate
Comparing her to iconic figures Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, he told the 80,000 fans she had been under house arrest for 20-years. Her only crime, he added, that if she was free to participate in elections she would win.
It was an imposing sight to see dozens of people march around the stage, wearing masks in the Burmese opposition leader's image, before standing side by side to face the crowds.
All eyes were on U2's hat trick of concerts in their home town, and the boys knew it.
And after all the hype, after the endless publicity, after a weekend of total U2 saturation, you might have thought the boys might be on a downward spiral, with their eyes now set on the dates on the horizon. Not so. The adulation continued unabated.
Swaggering out onto the stage to arms held aloft for their victorious three-in-a-row, they immediately commandeered the crowd's attention with 'Breathe', before Bono called out "Plenty of craic on the horizon".
A technicolour riot was beamed out as the band marched out their newest efforts with a frenzy of lights signalling 'Get on Your Boots'.
Bono walked out on a bridge over the crowd as he launched into 'Magnificent' to a barrage of camera flashes.
"Again, thank you to the neighbours. Difficult times in the world, difficult times in Ireland," he surmised. "There is a very special spirit in this country, it is a spirit that won't easily be broken."
It was a little less than two hours after they walked onto the stage, as twilight closed in, that the swaying masses finally bore witness to the full colour effects of the massive stage.
They had the whole stadium leaning on their every note and utterance.
Bono's charm managed to soothe at least one disgruntled resident over the weekend as he handed her a signed set-list and apologised for the noise.
Yet, others weren't for swaying, and had planned overnight protests at the Croke Park venue over the intrusion, particularly the 44 hours of continuous works permitted to dismantle the famous stage.
They were taking to the streets in motor convoy in the early hours of this morning to disrupt the trucks' tight schedule of lugging away the equipment, and dragging in the new soil to be laid on the pitch before next weekend's all-Ireland football quarter-finals.
Many fans of the megagroup were returning yesterday for their second or third night of the show.
As the last of the concert-goers trickled out of the stadium, the workers were already busy. They were packing up the 165ft tall mammoth stage and rolling on to Gothenburg, Zagreb, London, Glasgow, Sheffield, Chicago ... and on ... and on.
- Louise Hogan
