U2 postpones Buenos Aires show for football fans

(From left) The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr, Bono and Adam Clayton of Irish rock band U2 perform on stage at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, on July 25, 2017. PHOTO: AFP

BUENOS AIRES • Irish rockers U2 had to kick off their concert two hours later than scheduled in Buenos Aires on Tuesday to allow their fans to watch Argentina's do-or-die World Cup football qualifier.

The band, playing in the Argentinian capital as part of their Joshua Tree tour, agreed to push back their set by almost two hours to 10.30pm, the organisers said.

The arrangement allowed the fans at La Plata stadium - the concert venue - to cheer on their national team, led by striker Lionel Messi, who were playing at high altitude in Quito, Ecuador.

Support acts - local band Joystick and Noel Gallagher - opened the concert before music took a backseat to football, with a place in the World Cup finals in Russia next year at stake.

When U2 finally came on stage, they kicked off a giant party after Messi scored a hat-trick in getting the qualification job done for his country.

Meanwhile, Gallagher, the former frontman of Oasis, has revealed how much fun he is having on tour with U2.

The FC Barcelona website quoted him - while he was in Spain with the rockers - as saying: "I'm only on stage for an hour. I'm off stage by eight o'clock, half eight.

"Have (something) to eat, something to drink, watch U2, have two days off."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 12, 2017, with the headline U2 postpones Buenos Aires show for football fans. Subscribe