New Delhi, India | AFP | Wednesday 9/18/2019 – 14:10 UTC+8

Irish rockers U2 have announced they are to play their first ever concert in India, wrapping up the band’s Joshua Tree Tour 2019 in the coastal megacity of Mumbai on December 15.

India has in recent years seen an increase in big international acts touring there, with Beyonce, Shakira, Coldplay, Demi Lovato and Bryan Adams playing to packed venues.

Bassist Adam Clayton said he was “looking forward to bringing a dash of Dublin to Mumbai” while frontman Bono evoked India and Ireland’s common struggles for independence from Britain.

“We have the same colours in the flag, our tiny little nation. Mahatma Gandhi commented on the struggle for Irish independence and warned against the violent struggle,” Bono told Rolling Stone India.

“And our prime minister, he’s a physician — he’s trained in Mumbai, his father’s from Mumbai,” Bono said, referring to Irish premier Leo Varadkar whose father is Indian.

The Joshua Tree Tour 2019 kicks off in Auckland November 8 and includes Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth, as well as Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul and Manila, U2 said Tuesday.

Cover image: Irish rock band U2 singer Bono flashes the Victory sign upon his arrival at the European Council in Brussels on October 10, 2018. Bono, the co-founder of ONE, a global campaign and advocacy organisation committed to ending extreme poverty, is in Brussels to discuss African development issues. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)

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