Madonna Holds Impromptu Concert In Paris Square To Honor Terror Attack Victims [Videos]


Following her concert Wednesday evening in the Bercy Arena in Paris, Madonna threw an impromptu concert in the heart of the city to honor the victims of the November 13 attacks.

After a sell-out concert at the Bercy Arena in Paris on the French leg of her “Rebel Heart” tour, Madonna took to the social media to let fans know she was heading to the Place de la République to hold a special impromptu concert. The concert was to honor the victims of the November 13 Paris terror attacks, in which 130 people died and many more were injured.

As reported by USA Today, Madonna, accompanied by a guitarist, belted out popular songs, including John Lennon’s “Imagine,” which has become an unofficial anthem in the city in the wake of the Paris terror attacks.

Before she started the unofficial concert, Madonna told onlookers, “Everybody knows why we’re here… we just want to sing a few songs about peace, just to spread love and joy, and to pay our honor and respect to the people who died almost four weeks ago.”

“And to spread light… we all need it.”

Madonna started the unofficial song set with “Ghosttown” before she moved on to John Lennon’s “Imagine” and her own song, “Like a Prayer,” aided in her musical efforts by her son, 10-year-old David, and guitarist Monte Pittman.

Pittman said later, “She wanted to pay tribute, she loves this city.”

Since the Paris terror attacks on November 13, the Place de la République has been turned into a shrine to the 130 victims who died when Islamic State terrorists attacked several venues in the city with a series of shootings and suicide bombings. Flowers, messages, and candles, left by passersby in the city, have been piled around the iconic statue in the square.

At a concert in Stockholm, Sweden, on November 15, as part of her “Rebel Heart” tour, Madonna asked for a minute’s silence to honor the victims of the Paris terror attacks, saying, “It’s been really hard, actually, to get through the show, because in many ways, I feel torn. Like, why am I up here dancing and having fun when people are crying over the loss of their loved ones?”

She went on to say that is what the terrorists want us to do, adding, “They want to shut us up. They want to silence us. And we won’t let them.”

The Guardian reports that while she was performing in the Bercy Arena earlier Wednesday evening, Madonna reportedly wrapped herself in the French tricolor flag to sing “La Marseillaise.”

She told the audience, “We will not bend down to fear! I think of what happened almost four weeks ago now. The heart of Paris and the heart of France beats in the heart of each city.”

As reported by the Inquisitr, the Irish band, U2 also paid tribute in their recent concerts in Paris on December 6 and 7. While they initially had to postpone two concerts in the wake of the Paris terror attacks, the band returned to the city and gave heartwarming performances, with a huge screen at the back of the stage showing the names of the victims of the attacks.

On the second evening, U2 invited Eagles of Death Metal, whose Bataclan concert hall appearance was interrupted by the terrorists, onto the stage to huge applause.

[Photo by Jacques Brinon/AP]

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