Nosedef: Bono falls off bridge in Sweden

I was sitting with my bags by the left railing of the Götaälv Bridge in Göteborg, it was slowly gliding across the canal in more of a ferry-like than bridge-like way. Outside the railing, on a thin ledge, Bono was singing and playing finish cymbals. Their color turned from brass to orange/black stripes. The rest of U2 was scattered over the bridge, a very interesting setup. The drummer was missing though, so instead of the intense drums/finish cymbal-interplay from the recorded version, we got a sparse but intricate version of the song.

As the song ended I was struck by a panicky fear as Bono stood up, raising his arms and chanting his praise to the crowd – the winds are too strong, you’re outside the railing! – and as I thought this, a strong wind hit him. To the soundtrack of a thousand-headed gasp he fell backwards, unable to grip the fence, and was gone.

I couldn’t believe it. I had sat right next to Bono and witnessed his last seconds in life. I had a vacuumy feeling of helplessness, and I was irritated that the ride would now be delayed because of all the people swimming around looking for him although the chances of survival were none. The bridge opened, tilted downwards instead of upwards, and I slowly sled down into the water with my bags.