Bono And U2 Honour Alexey Navalny During Las Vegas Concert

U2 paid tribute to the late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny during their concert at Las Vegas’s Sphere over the weekend.

Speaking to the crowd on Saturday, according to an audience video, Bono spoke about the upcoming second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and acknowledged the millions of people affected by the ongoing conflict.

“For 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 so important that Alexey Navalny chose to give his up,” Bono said.  

Navalny, an outspoken critic of the Kremlin whose 2020 poisoning with a nerve agent made global headlines, was reported dead on Friday by the Russian prison service. He was 47.

He died after becoming unwell and falling unconscious while on a walk in the Siberian prison where he was being held, according to the Russian prison service.

The band has been supportive of the Ukrainian people.

In addition to raising funds, Bono and U2 guitarist, The Edge, performed at the Khreschatyk metro station in Kyiv in May 2022 at the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.