Every major Oslo newspaper gave top marks to a concert Wednesday night by Irish band U2. The sold-out event drew 40,000 screaming fans, after lead singer Bono first paid a courtesy call to Norway's prime minister.

Bono has become as well-known for his political activism and social involvement as he is for music. He said he was "honoured and overwhelmed" to be in Norway, which he claimed is at the forefront in advancing world peace and social justice and battling poverty.

The rock star said that while he usually has to do a lot of arm-twisting with politicians, he only wanted to thank Norway's leaders for their stand on issues "that I care about."

His meeting with Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, coming just three hours before the concert was to begin, was scheduled to last just 20 minutes. It went on for well over a half-hour, touching on aid to developing countries, debt relief and how the recent G8 meeting should be followed up.

After that Bono headed for the Valle Hovin outdoor stadium in Oslo, where he yelled "hello, hello," and launched a performance that critics said was so good it left them dizzy.

Fans came from all over Norway, from Sweden and Finland and Scotland. "U2 is without a doubt the best band in the world," Kristian Macaulay told newspaper Aftenposten. "I've travelled all the way from Edinburgh to see them."

Nina Aakre Rudin, age 27, came from Kalmar, on Sweden's east coast. "They're a fantastic band to see live," she said. "And I like the fact that they're a political band, there's too few of them."

Ole Bjarne Hovland and Øystein Færøvik drove seven hours from the mountains of Sogn og Fjordane to experience U2 in concert, playing their music along the way. "It's powerful to stand together with 40,000 people and hear a band you dig," said Hovland.

U2 traveled on to Gothenburg, Sweden for their next live performance, and from there they head for Copenhagen. Their European tour started June 10 in Brussels.