U2 mark 50th anniversary with surprise Dublin gigs
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Neutral summary
On 25 September 2026, exactly 50 years after Larry Mullen Jr. posted a notice seeking musicians on the bulletin board of "Mount Temple Comprehensive School" in Dublin, U2 returned to the school to give a secret concert for students and staff. The performance began shortly after 2 p.m. local time; Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. played several songs, joined for one number by young musicians from the "Music Generation for One" project. Later that day the band staged a second surprise — a set from the balcony of "Bewley's" café on Grafton Street that drew thousands of onlookers. According to "El Economista", the musicians tried to recreate one of their earliest shows, when they played on the roof of the school's boiler house in 1978. A day earlier, on 24 September, U2 announced "Carnaval de Luz", their first album of new material in nine years, scheduled for release on 13 November. The album includes the song "Silencio", which the band performed during the school concert, and a track recorded with Dolly Parton. Sources differ on some details: "TheJournal.ie" reports that fans began gathering outside the school from 9 a.m., while "O Globo" and "Folha de S.Paulo" say the concert started after 2 p.m. "RTÉ News" and "Belfast Telegraph" confirm that the Grafton Street performance was a gift to thousands of Dubliners and visitors.
How it was framed
Outlets: 26. Countries: 14. Facts in the shared core: 4.
Publication timeline
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CNews (outlet profile)
50 ans de U2 : voici les 10 dates les plus marquantes de l'histoire du groupe. Le groupe U2 fête ses 50 ans d’existence le 25 septembre 2026, l’occasion de revenir sur les dix moments les plus marquants de la formation…
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El Nacional (outlet profile)
U2 lanzará Carnaval de luz el 13 de noviembre. Cinco décadas después de fundarse, la agrupación irlandesa celebra su historia con temas nuevos. La producción combina experimentación y estructuras directas. Hay una canci…
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RTÉ News (outlet profile)
U2 at 50: 50 things you might not know. From a kitchen in Artane to some of the biggest stages in the world, U2 have spent five decades making music together. As the Dublin band mark their 50th anniversary, here are 50…
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RFI (outlet profile)
Le groupe U2 fête 50 ans de rock et annonce son nouvel album «Carnaval de Luz». Le 25 septembre 1976, quatre lycéens se retrouvaient à Dublin pour former un groupe qui allait conquérir la planète rock.Cinq décennies plu…
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La Tercera (outlet profile)
La cocina de Larry: el día en que nació U2. Este 25 de septiembre, el cuarteto irlandés cumple exactas cinco décadas desde que sus miembros originales se juntaron a ensayar por primera vez, luego de leer un aviso en el…
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La Nación (outlet profile)
U2 cumple 50: del anuncio en la cartelera de un colegio irlandés al nuevo disco que saldrá en noviembre. La banda irlandesa celebra su medio siglo de vida, estrena una canción y le pone fecha a su nuevo álbum
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RTÉ News (outlet profile)
U2 honoured with €2 coin marking 50th anniversary. U2 have been honoured with a new €2 commemorative coin marking 50 years since the band first came together in Dublin.
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RTÉ News (outlet profile)
U2 return to Mount Temple for surprise anniversary gig. U2 have returned to their former school in Dublin for a special performance marking 50 years since the band first came together.
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TheJournal.ie (outlet profile)
U2 have just kicked off a 'secret' gig in the school yard at Mount Temple. Bono, The Edge, Adam and Larry are performing to mark the 50th anniversary of the band’s formation.
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Belfast Telegraph (outlet profile)
U2 go back to school where they formed for special performance
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Evening Standard (outlet profile)
U2 go back to school where they formed for special performance. The Irish rock band are promoting upcoming album Carnaval de Luz.
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O Globo (outlet profile)
No dia dos 50 anos de sua formação, U2 faz show surpresa na escola onde integrantes estudaram. Nesta sexta-feira, data em que se completam 50 anos de sua formação, o grupo irlandês U2 voltou à sua antiga escola na cidad…
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The Portugal News (outlet profile)
U2 celebrate 50 years with new album with Portuguese name. U2 are marking their 50th anniversary with a new album called Carnaval de Luz.
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RTÉ News (outlet profile)
U2 reflect on 'extraordinary' Mount Temple return. U2 have reflected on the emotion of returning to Mount Temple Comprehensive School for a surprise performance marking 50 years since the band first came together.
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TheJournal.ie (outlet profile)
Fly on the wall: Here's what it was like at U2's 'secret' Mount Temple schoolyard gig. Fans started gathering from after 9am this morning as word filtered out that something special might be happening at the band’s old…
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The Independent (outlet profile)
U2 goes back to school to put on a show where it all began 50 years ago. U2 has returned to their roots, surprising students with a rock and roll class at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin
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Rolling Stone (outlet profile)
See U2’s 50th-Anniversary Performance at Their Old High School. The Irish superstars returned to their Dublin roots, just after announcing new album Carnaval De Luz
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La Repubblica (outlet profile)
U2, la nuova era riparte dalle origini: il live tra i ragazzi della scuola dove tutto ebbe inizio. Il gruppo torna alla Mount Temple Comprehensive School, luogo della giovinezza, per festeggiare il 50ennale e lanciare i…
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RTÉ News (outlet profile)
U2 play to packed Grafton Street crowd from Bewley's. U2 have played a surprise gig from the balcony of Bewley's on Dublin's Grafton Street as the band marked 50 years together.
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Belfast Telegraph (outlet profile)
Thousands gifted surprise U2 gig in Dublin for band’s 50th ‘birthday’
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Evening Standard (outlet profile)
Thousands gifted surprise U2 gig in Dublin for band’s 50th ‘birthday’. Thousands of people were gifted a surprise U2 gig in the heart of their home city of Dublin, as the band marks 50 years since its formation.
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BBC (русская служба) (outlet profile)
U2 вернулись в дублинскую школу, чтобы отметить полувековой юбилей группы. Ровно через 50 лет после своего образования группа U2 вернулась в Дублин, чтобы дать концерт в школе, где впервые встретились все ее музыканты.
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Le Parisien (outlet profile)
Pour son 50e anniversaire, U2 revient jouer à Dublin et annonce un nouvel album
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Folha de S.Paulo (outlet profile)
U2 faz show na escola onde se formou em comemoração aos 50 anos da banda. Nesta sexta-feira, o U2 voltou à escola Mount Temple Comprehensive School, em Dublin , onde a banda foi formada, para um show surpresa. Bono, The…
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New York Post (outlet profile)
Audiences are shrieking bloody murder at ‘Othello’ and howling at ‘Something Rotten’ at the Stratford Festival. I heard several terrified yells at a recent performance at the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada, an id…
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Ouest-France (outlet profile)
Le groupe U2 donne des concerts surprise à Dublin pour ses 50 ans. Le célèbre groupe de rock a donné deux concerts surprises à Dublin à l’occasion du cinquantième anniversaire de sa formation. U2 a d’abord joué dans son…
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Sydney Morning Herald (outlet profile)
U2 rock their old school with surprise concert to mark 50 years. The iconic rock group followed up their school performance with a surprise concert on a Dublin pedestrian mall famous for hosting buskers.
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El Economista (outlet profile)
U2 celebra sus 50 años juntos con un concierto en el colegio donde todo empezó. Mullen, Bono, The Edge y Adam Clayton intentaron el viernes recrear uno de sus primeros conciertos, cuando tocaron en el tejado de la sala…
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BFMTV (outlet profile)
U2 : un concert surprise dans leur lycée pour fêter les 50 ans du groupe. U2 a fêté hier, vendredi 25 septembre 2026, ses 50 ans de carrière par un concert surprise dans la cour de la Mount Temple Comprehensive School,…
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Sud Ouest (outlet profile)
VIDÉOS. Le groupe U2 célèbre ses 50 ans en organisant des concerts surprise à Dublin et y joue son nouveau morceau « Silencio ». Le mythique groupe de rock irlandais U2 a fêté son demi-siècle d’existence en retournant s…
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Tanjug (outlet profile)
U2 obeležio 50 godina postojanja koncertom u školi u kojoj je osnovan
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Meduza.io (outlet profile)
Группе U2 50 лет. Музыканты отметили юбилей секретным концертом в родной школе в Дублине. Ирландская рок-группа U2 сыграла 25 сентября специальный секретный концерт для учеников средней школы Mount Temple в Дублине. Так…
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Insajder (outlet profile)
Pobegli sa časa hemije i napravili bend: U2 obeležio pola veka koncertom u svojoj bivšoj školi (VIDEO). Grupa U2 obeležila je 50 godina od osnivanja koncertom u školi "Maunt Templ" u Dablinu, gde su se članovi benda upo…
Factual core
- The concert was held to mark U2's 50th anniversary.
- The concert took place at the school in Dublin where U2 was formed.
- U2 performed a surprise show at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin on September 25, 2026, the 50th anniversary of the band's formation.
- U2 announced a new album titled 'Carnaval De Luz' shortly before the performance.