U2 return to their Dublin school to mark 50 years since the band formed

On 25 September 2026, U2 went back to Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin, the school where the band took shape 50 years earlier. The visit was a surprise, and Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. played a short set in the school grounds for students and staff.

The band's story began in September 1976, when Mullen put up a handwritten note on a school noticeboard seeking musicians to form a band. The note led to the group that became U2. The anniversary visit was part of a run of unannounced appearances, which also included an appearance on a balcony above Grafton Street, a busy shopping street in central Dublin.

The set included well-known songs such as "Vertigo", "Beautiful Day" and "One", and ended with "With or Without You". The band also played a new single, "Silencio", for the first time live. The appearances coincided with the announcement of the album Carnaval de Luz, due for release on 13 November. Reports differed on how many people attended the school show, so the exact crowd size is unclear. The event set the tone for the album's promotion, which blended the band's early history with new music.