U2 all set for Dec. 6-7 concerts in Paris; Bono tells music fans: 'Be vigilant but unafraid'
There is no stopping the band U2 from performing in Paris this Sunday and Monday, Dec. 6 and 7, and lead singer Bono has this piece of advice to those who would be watching their concert: "Be vigilant, but unafraid."
Bono said his band will perform in Paris at the AccorHotels Arena.
Also, Bono has announced that the U2 Innocence + Experience Live from Paris HBO special will now air on Dec. 7 instead of the initially scheduled Nov. 14.
During an interview with the Associated Press, Bono said the band has been "very graceful" about their upcoming performance in Paris despite the city going through "the most ugly nightmare" just recently.
"[The terrorists] took a lot of lives we're not going to get back, but they're not going to change the character of the city of Paris," he said.
Bono said music lovers must show a united front now despite terrorism's "direct hit on music."
He likened the victims of the Paris terror attacks to his own children and band mates.
"These are our people and they're very familiar faces, the people in the audience, they're our people," he said. "They're like my daughter, my son, they're like (U2 members) Edges, they're like Larry (Mullen Jr.)...so we took it very badly. But we're going back, you bet. Nothing will stop us from going back. Be vigilant, but be unafraid."
The Irish rock star has high hopes that there will be a huge turnout for their concert. Knowing Parisians, Bono believes that they will not let a terrorist act keep them from doing the things they love best, once of which is to enjoy music.
"Well, knowing our French audience and having a sense of them by now, I would say joy as an act of defiance," he said. "That's what U2 does, that's what French people want from us and that's it."
U2 was initially scheduled to perform in Paris on Nov. 14, less than 24 hours after the terrorist attacks left 130 people dead and more than 300 others wounded. One of the simultaneous attacks struck the Eagles of Death Metal concert held at the Bataclan Concert Hall.