Bono lashes out at burqa ban during U2 gig in Copenhagen
BONO has condemned Denmark for banning the burqa during a U2 concert in Copenhagen. The rocker, right, performing in the capital’s Royal Arena, used his ‘evil alter ego’ Mr MacPhisto to mock the ruling, which came into force amid protests in August.
It came weeks after he used the same photo filter technology, projecting a devil clown face to mock Sweden’s surge in support for antiimmigrant politicians.
In Copenhagen, the 58-year-old singer, who recently lost his voice during a performance in Germany, mockingly congratulated some of Europe’s best-known hard-right and populist politicians, starting with those in Denmark before launching into a rendition of 1991’s Acrobat.
As Mr Macphisto he told the audience: ‘Denmark, I had forgotten about your splendid colonial ways, but I see you’re finding your own form. Forget [Danish television series] Borgen. You’re banning burqas and confiscating jewellery from those awful asylum seekers. Bravo.’
He also called far-right Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán a ‘lovely man’ and performed a Nazi salute as he shouted out ‘Jimmie Åkesson, next door in Sweden’. Bono also called French far-right politician Marine Le Pen ‘Daddy’s litte girl’, and a ‘little girl with big ideas’.
Protesters wearing niqab and bodylength burqas marched in Denmark after the country’s ban on wearing face veils in public was put into action in August.
Restrictions on Islamic face veils were approved by MPs in May after being brought forward by the country’s centre-right coalition, known for tightening asylum and immigration rules in recent years.
First-time offenders risk a fine of 1,000 kroner (€135). Repeat offences could trigger fines of up to 10,000 kroner (€1,350) or six months in jail.
Bono’s Macphisto, who speaks with an exaggerated upper-class English accent, was conceived for the group’s Zoo TV tour in 1992, and has been used to make satirical statements ever since. In September Bono was seen making a Nazi salute during a concert in Paris, as he mocked Åkesson, the leader of the far-right Sweden Democrats Party.