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Achtung Berlin!

U2 Rock Out at Iconic Brandenburg Gate

Irish rock stars U2 preformed a free concert at Berlin's historic Brandenburg Gate on Thursday as part of the MTV European Music Awards. The six-set gig helped kick off celebrations to mark 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Irish rock stars U2 helped kick off festivities to mark 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall on Thursday night with a free concert in front of the iconic Brandenburg Gate.

"Happy Birthday Berlin!" lead singer Bono shouted to the cheering crowd of 10,000 and thanked the city for "sticking with us over the years."

Fittingly the band began proceedings with a rendition of "One," a song inspired by the divisons between East and West Berlin during the Cold War. The band spent time in the newly united city back in 1990, recording part of their "Achtung Baby" album, which featured the East German Trabant car on its cover.

Against the impressive background of a Brandenburg Gate illuminated with words such as "Freedom" and "One Love," the Hibernian heroes also belted out "Vertigo" and "Beautiful Day." The quartet was joined by US rapper Jay-Z for their performance of "Sunday Bloody Sunday," a song inspired by the conflict in Northern Ireland.

Tickets for the free concert were snapped up within three hours of being made available on the Internet last month. The show formed part of the MTV European Music Awards and later on that evening U2 were presented with an award for best live act.

One of the presenters was David Hasselhoff, of "Knight Rider" and "Baywatch" fame, who himself had preformed his hit "Looking for Freedom" at the Brandenburg Gate on New Year's Eve 1989.

On Monday the site will see a very different kind of event with Chancellor Angela Merkel hosting a group of world leaders to commemorate 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

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