Hailing Shimon Peres’s lifelong peace efforts, U2 lead singer Bono dedicated the last song of the band’s concert in Toronto on Tuesday to the former president, who was in the audience and who he also met with backstage.
Just before starting to play “One,” the final encore of the show at the 20,000-capacity Air Canada Center, Bono told a cheering audience that Peres was in the house.
The singer introduced “somebody here who’s got one of the hardest jobs on earth…. somebody who has acted as the voice of reason in a region where the loudest voices are often the bellicose ones. Nobel peace laureate Shimon Peres is here in the house tonight,” said Bono. “We understand, president Peres, that you have tried to be the voice of reason. And you’ve dedicated a lot of your life, all of your life, to try and bring peace in this really dangerous region,” said the singer.
Earlier, before playing the song “Pride (In the Name of Love),” Bono entreated the crowd to give love to Israel, and the Palestinians, and everyone in the Middle East that needs it.
After the show, Bono and the former president met backstage. The singer told Peres that U2’s job was easy – the band only sings about peace, while Peres, he said, realizes it. Peres, who was in Canada for an economic conference, returned the compliment, calling Bono “a voice for hope and peace.”
Ed: This article has been edited from the source material
