Garrix started working on the track before the COVID-19 pandemic. Once he finished the instrumental, he realised that the song recalled U2’s sounds, so he started dreaming about a potential collaboration. Six hours after having sent the email to the Irish rockers, he received a call from Bono himself: ‘I remember I had to mute myself on the phone during the conversation just to scream and then unmute and play it cool. It was incredible.’ Garrix told to Rolling Stone.

The recordings took place in Monaco, and it was an experience the DJ will never forget. ‘I had goosebumps in the studio the entire time. Because it’s Bono standing next to me singing the song.’ The DJ shared. Three years later, the song is finally out: ‘Creating the music for one of the biggest sports events in the world together with Bono and The Edge has been an incredible experience,’ Garrix stated. ‘I’m very proud of what we did together and excited to finally share it with the world!’

UEFA marketing director Guy-Laurent Epstein said in a statement: ‘The long wait is almost over, and we are delighted to officially unveil the official song for UEFA Euro 2020, ‘We Are the People’, which features some of the world’s most celebrated artists in Martin Garrix, Bono, and The Edge. Football and music have the power of bringing people together. They are vectors of passion and emotion and combining them will extend further the fan celebration of the tournament, as well as reaching out to new audiences. With the star-studded line-up we have pulled together to create the tournament’s official music, we are confident of doing just this.’

You can listen to the track below. The video features the three artists and includes some footage shot in London.

A music insider said: ‘Martin adores football so this opportunity was ­massive for him, which is why he aimed for the very top when looking for collaborators. He has spent months and months working on this song to make it perfect and once Bono and The Edge were on board, it hit new heights. They have spoken quite a few times and are in London at the moment working on the video. They can’t wait to get it out there for everyone to listen to really soon.’

Garrix was commissioned to create the song for this event in October 2019. When that happened, he stated: ‘It’s an ­incredible honour to be asked to create the official song for UEFA Euro 2020 and I am so excited to let ­everyone hear it. Next summer’s tournament will take the fans closer to the action than ever before, and I hope my song will make everyone in Europe feel like they are part of it. Music is my passion, but I’m also a huge football fan, so it’s extra special for me to be able to create the official song for what will be the biggest Euro in ­history.’

The young DJ conquered the UK music scene hitting number 1 in 2013 with the song ‘Animals’. From there on, he has collaborated with many international popstars, including Dua Lipa and Usher. On the other hand, U2 have sold more than 150 million copies worldwide, with seven number 1 singles and ten albums landing on the worldwide music charts.

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