The U2 frontman condemns the violence that erupted over the weekend following protests over an ex-cop's acquittal.
- Sep 18, 2017
AceShowbiz - Bono spoke out about the violence that happened in St. Louis over the weekend after his band U2 was forced to pull the plug on their concert due to safety concerns. The vocalist took it to Instagram to vent his frustration regarding the situation.
"Deeply saddened at what has happened in St. Louis and having to cancel our show tonight," so Bono wrote to his online followers. "I found myself reading Dr. King's speech from the National Cathedral and asking myself is this 1968 or 2017?"
He the shared Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech, "Human progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability...we are coming to ask America to be true to the huge promissory note that it signed years ago. And we are coming to engage in dramatic nonviolent action, to call attention to the gulf between promise and fulfillment; to make the invisible visible."
U2 was supposed to perform at The Dome at America's Center on Saturday. "We have been informed by the St. Louis Police Department that they are not in a position to provide the standard protection for our audience as would be expected for an event of this size," the band said in a statement. "We have also been informed that local crowd security personnel would not be at full capacity."
"In light of this information, we cannot in good conscience risk our fans' safety by proceeding with tonight's concert. As much as we regret having to cancel, we feel it is the only acceptable course of action in the current environment," they added.
Ed Sheeran also canceled his show initially scheduled at Scottrade Center on Sunday, September 17. His rep said, "With the safety of the fans being of upmost concern, and after consulting with local officials, who could not fully commit to providing a sufficient amount of police and other city services support, we felt it was in everyone's best interest to cancel Sunday night's show. While we regret to have had to come to this decision, we do look forward to returning to St. Louis as soon as Ed's schedule will allow in 2018."
