U2’s Bono pays tribute to Alexei Navalny at The Sphere

U2 frontman Bono paid tribute to recently deceased Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny during Saturday night’s Las Vegas concert at The Sphere. Leading the 20,000-person crowd in a chant of Navalny’s name, the singer spoke on the struggle for freedom in Eastern Europe.

As the band prepared for a cover rendition of Crowded House’s ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over,’ Bono took a moment to acknowledge the dissident’s fight against an oppressive establishment.

“Next week it’ll be two years since Putin invaded and tried to destroy the hard-won freedoms [of] 41 million people,” Bono said of the invasion in Ukraine. “Next, it’ll be Poland, next it’ll be Lithuania, East Germany; who knows where this man will or won’t go. To these people, freedom is not just a word in a song. For these people freedom is the most important word in the world — so important that Ukrainians are fighting and dying for it. And it’s so important that Alexei Navalny chose to give his up.”

After clamorous applause, the frontman added, “Apparently Putin would never, ever say his name. So I thought tonight, the free people, people who believe in freedom must say his name. Not just remember it, but say it.” The chant continued as the opening chords of ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ rang through the arena.

Back in May of 2022, only months before the Russian invasion, Bono and guitarist Dave Evans performed at the Khreschatyk subway station in Kyiv as a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people. The pair was joined by Taras Topolya of the Ukrainian band Antytila along with other local musicians.