U2 free concert to mark fall of Berlin Wall
Last Updated: Wednesday, October 28, 2009 | 2:30 PM ET
CBC News
Guitarist The Edge and lead singer Bono of the rock band U2 perform with the band during the 360 world tour in East Rutherford, N.J., on Sept. 24, 2009. (Evan Agostini/Associated Press)Irish rockers U2 will mark the 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall with a free concert in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
The band announced on its website that it would hold the concert Nov. 5 as part of the MTV Europe Music Awards, which will be held in Berlin.
"It will be an exciting spot to be in, 20 years almost to the day since the Wall came down. Should be fun," said the band's manager, Paul McGuinness, on the website.
U2 based itself out of Berlin in 1990, the year after the fall of the Wall, to create the new sound that debuted on the album Achtung Baby.
The neoclassical Brandenburg Gate was just west of the former Berlin Wall and marked the dividing line between East and West Berlin. Before 1961 when the Wall was built and since 1989, when it fell, it has been a thoroughfare
The actual anniversary of the fall of the Wall is Nov. 9 and that date will be marked by celebrations in Germany.
The MTV Europe Music Awards at Berlin's O2 Arena on Nov. 5 are to be hosted by Katy Perry, and feature performances by Robbie Williams and Jay-Z.
Tickets for the free U2 concert will be available at the U2 and MTV websites.
