U2 Invited to Perform for Free at Mexico’s Zócalo: ‘We Love the City’

The highly anticipated return of the Irish band U2 to Mexico City this week to film the music video for their single “Street of Dreams” has resulted in an official invitation from the capital’s head of government, Clara Brugada, for the group to perform at the iconic Zócalo, the country’s main public square.

On Tuesday (May 13), Brugada met with the members of the famous quartet during the filming of their music video in the streets of the city’s Historic Center. There, the official handed the band a document, as shown in a video posted on her social media. The letter was received by Bono, vocalist and leader of the renowned group.

“This is an invitation for you to play in our wonderful square, which is the Zócalo,” Brugada said in Spanish, as shown in the video. “You are welcome, and we would love it very much.”

Previously, Bono had expressed to Brugada his desire to kick off their next world tour in Mexico City, a place that holds a special place in the hearts of the quartet, which also includes The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr.

“We’re working on that,” the singer said in English. “In our dreams, we could begin our tour here.”

He added: “We love the city.”

The Zócalo is considered an emblematic location of great significance — a plaza filled with symbolism where politics, social movements, culture and religion converge. It is the second-largest public square in the world, only behind Tiananmen Square in Beijing. In March, Colombian superstar Shakira set a new record for the largest audience ever gathered for a free concert at the Plaza de la Constitución (the Zócalo’s official name), drawing 400,000 attendees.

The meeting between Brugada and U2 took place at the Casino Metropolitano in the Historic Center of the capital, a spokesperson for the city government confirmed to Billboard Español. During the meeting, the official presented each member of the band with a figure of an axolotl, an amphibian species native to central Mexico, as seen in the video.

Later, Brugada shared a message on her social media accounts with photos alongside the band. “Welcoming U2 to our capital is a celebration of music, connection and the excitement that is felt in every corner of this city,” she wrote in her post. “We are a city open to the world, vibrant and full of stories that are shared from the stage to the streets.”

The band participated on Wednesday in the second day of filming for the “Street of Dreams” music video, a song that will be part of their upcoming album, set to be released later this year.

The day before, performing atop the roof of a school bus decorated with graffiti by artist Chavis Mármol, the quartet played their new song — featuring choruses in Spanish — surrounded by a large crowd in the city’s Historic Center. The occasion also marked the first appearance of drummer Larry Mullen Jr. alongside his bandmates after years offstage recovering from neck and back surgeries.

Mexico holds a special place in the hearts of U2’s members, as it’s where they’ve delivered some of their most celebrated performances, including the concert captured in the video Popmart: Live From Mexico City, recorded in 1997 during the Popmart Tour.

The last time U2 performed in Mexico City was during the 30th-anniversary tour of their iconic album The Joshua Tree in October 2017, just three weeks after the powerful earthquake that struck central Mexico.