U2 Filming Video in Colombia

Original Story by Aaron J. Sams (2023-01-24)

There is a lot of fuss in the local news in Colombia that U2 were in the South American country to film a video recently. The images accompanying the news show that it wasn’t U2 at all, but rather look-alikes, which are causing most of the fuss. U2 have recently filmed a video in Colombia, and the look-a-likes are part of the video filmed. It’s not the first time the band have used look-a-likes, they famously did that in 1992 with “Even Better than the Real Thing“ as well.

The filming took place in the Carrizal desert between Uribia and Cabo de la Vela. Members of the band are said to have arrived by private plane in these media reports in Colombia, and then spent two days in the desert, which they reached by helicopter. But the film crew was reported to be in place for several weeks, and filmed many others for the video. A spokesperson for U2 stated that U2 had not been in Colombia recently, and that the online images which leaked were of actors dressed as the band.

Well known Bono impersonator Pavel Sfera was the Bono impersonator in question. On social media Sfera posted on January 10, “I’m doing a big project in Bogota, Colombia January 14th – 20th. We are looking for an Edge, Clayton and Mullen Jr look a likes. No performance, just good looks. Doesn’t matter where you are in the world. Just have your availability to fly to Colombia.” It appears to be Sfera in the photographs being shared on social media from the video shoot. Like in real life, photos have been shared of the look-a-like Bono, Edge, and Adam Clayton and the look-a-like Larry Mullen was not spotted.

Its not just look-a-likes that were flown in for the video shoot. A number of U2 fans were also invited to Colombia for the video shoot. This included a number of fans known for dressing up in concert and joining the band on stage, the belly dancers, the Macphisto impersonators, the mirror ball men. The band are also said to have worked with locals from Colombia in additional scenes. It is not clear whether any members of the band were present in Colombia themselves.

José Sierra, the Secretary of Tourism for the La Guajira area where filming took place, shared on Caracol Radio about the video shoot, “The issue of their arrival was handled with a lot of reserve because that’s what they asked for. A very confidential process was developed to be able to respect the development of the recordings.” [Translated]

It is not known what video was being filmed, but is expected to be a video for one of the recreated songs on Songs of Surrender which is out on March 17, 2023. Earlier in the week we also shared that the band have been filming promotional material for their upcoming residency plans in Las Vegas. Keep an eye on our news section for updates on these and other projects.

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