Northern Ireland

U2 wrap up Belfast gig with tribute to Paris attack victims

 U2 on stage in Belfast
 U2 on stage in Belfast  U2 on stage in Belfast

U2 wrapped up their Belfast gig with a tribute to the victims and people of Paris, following Friday's attacks in the city that killed 132 people.

The finale of their set saw them play their famous song, City Of Blinding Lights, which was accompanied by illuminated images of Paris lighting up the onstage big screen.  

Bono had earlier given a traditional Northern Ireland greeting with the well-known salute: "What about you?"

The Dublin rockers were onstage on Wednesday at the SSE Arena bringing their Innocence + Experience tour to the venue for two nights before performing four dates at Dublin’s 3Arena next week.

It is the band’s first concert since being forced to cancel their shows in Paris at the weekend following the terrorist attacks there.

The frontman said at the weekend they will return to Paris, adding “we can’t let them decide how we live”.

Bono has described the events, which saw gun and suicide bomb attacks by terrorists, including at an Eagles of Death Metal concert, in the French capital as an “attack on music”.

Speaking tonight in Belfast to devoted fans from across Ireland and as far away as Poland, the US, Mexico and Portugal, Bono also spoke of the Troubles. 

"It's great to be back in the heart of Belfast. What was happening up here in our teenage years...made a great impact...but what was happening on our streets also got into our heads."

The group played their hit song, Sunday, Bloody Sunday and relayed footage of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings which led into the song Raised By Wolves.

Loyalists planted three bombs in Dublin and one in Monaghan in 1974. 

Thirty-three people, including a pregnant woman, were killed and almost 300 people were injured when the bombs exploded without warning.

The last time U2 played in Belfast was in 1998 when they were joined on stage at the Waterfront Hall by political leaders David Trimble and John Hume.

Welcome to Belfast,Bono @SSEBelfastArena @U2 pic.twitter.com/HjeXtVgXpp — Aidan Larkin (@aidanl83) November 18, 2015