The Irish band U2 returned to Paris on Sunday night to perform at the AccorHotels Arena and did the two shows, which were originally part of their "Innocence + Experience" tour and were then postponed after the unfortunate Paris attack on Nov. 13.
The AccorHotels, where U2 had their concert on Sunday night, is only a few miles away from Bataclan, the music hall where 89 were shot dead by gunmen who stormed the Eagles of Death Metal gig; U2's concert, according to New York Times, is the first large-scale cultural event in Paris since the terrorist attack. The concert, accordingly, was seen to help heal Paris following the attack.
"Tonight we are all Parisian," said in French by band's lead Bono to a sold-out crowd of 17,000. "If you love liberty, then Paris is your hometown."
"Thank you for welcoming us back and allowing us to tell you a little bit about our lives at a time when your lives have been turned upside down," Bono added.
During the concert, Bono got a French flag from the audience and dressed it over his shoulders.
Although not able to join U2 on Sunday night, American band Eagles of Death Metal joined in on Monday night at the same arena in Paris.
"These are our brothers, our fellow troubadours and they were robbed of their stage three weeks ago, and we would like to offer them ours tonight," Bono told the crowd (via USA Today) on Monday night as he introduced Eagles of Death Metal.
The Monday night show saw U2 and Eagles of Death Metal perform in an inspiring act the Patti Smith hit "People Have the Power." Closing the show, the band took on one of their hit singles, "I Love You All The Time."
Before the two-night show, Bono shared in an interview that they really worked on getting back to the stage sooner as possible to show that they are not "terrorized."
"We felt the biggest and the only real contribution we can make at moment like that is to honor the people of Paris, who brought us the concept of liberte, egalite, and fraternite," he said.
