In 1993 , U2 was in Europe for the " Zooropa " leg of their Zoo TV Tour . Before their 3 July show in Verona , Italy , the band received a fax from Radio Televizija Bosne I Hercegovina asking for an interview regarding the situation in Bosnia . The band agreed and met with an American aid worker named Bill Carter , who acted as the station 's foreign associate , due to Serbian travel restrictions . Carter described his experiences in Sarajevo helping Bosnians while surviving the dangerous living conditions . Lead vocalist Bono was unnerved to hear that those living in makeshift bomb shelters in the city played music , including U2 's , at loud volumes to drown out the sound of explosions . While in Sarajevo , Carter had seen a television interview on MTV in which Bono mentioned the theme of the Zooropa tour leg was a unified Europe . Feeling that such an aim was empty if ignoring the Bosnians ' plight , Carter sought Bono 's help . He requested that U2 go to Sarajevo to bring attention to the war and break the " media fatigue " that had occurred from covering the conflict .