FEMININE SPIRIT The U2 research team has its hands full with a surfeit of Filipino women who symbolize bravery and love of country. –PHOTO FROM U2.COM
MANILA, Philippines — Will it be former President Cory Aquino, Sen. Leila de Lima, Vice President Leni Robredo or dozens of other Filipino women who might make the cut in a special women empowerment segment that U2 has prepared for its concert on Wednesday night, Dec. 11, at the Philippine Arena?
The Irish superstar band’s “The Joshua Tree”2019 tour, which proceeds to the Philippines on Wednesday night, has a feature on women in politics, protest movements, LGBTQ, women’s and civil rights, literature, music, business and sports.
This was confirmed by two Filipino media members who watched the tour’s concerts in Singapore and Japan.
The tour’s Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 shows at the National Stadium in Kallang, Singapore, was said to have shown blown-up photos of Singaporean teacher, councilor and World War II heroine Elizabeth Choy, journalist Margaret Thomas and the Singapore Women’s Everest Team.
On Dec. 4 and 5 at Saitama Super Arena, Japan, photos of Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg and American media personality Ellen DeGeneres were flashed on the larger-than-life video screen, said the Filipino broadcaster.
In a short clip from the tour’s 2017 edition, posted on the U2 website, the band’s lead singer Bono introduces the song, which he dedicates to “women who stood up, or sat down for their rights, women who insisted, resisted, persisted … Yo, light our way.”
It was Bono’s idea, U2 creative director Willie Williams said.
“We are currently living in a time when we could really use a more feminine spirit in our leadership,”Williams said.
The question now is, which Filipino women will U2 honor at its Philippine Arena concert on Dec. 11?
In fact, if Bono is abreast of Philippine current events, and since U2 itself is a politically conscious band, it won’t be a surprise to see images of Cory Aquino, De Lima or Robredo on that gigantic video screen.