The anti-capitalist group Art Uncut said it would unfurl banners and placards in front of TV cameras filming the U2 gig on the festival's main Pyramid Stage. Member Charlie Dewar said Bono campaigns against poverty in the developing world but has avoided paying Irish taxes at a time when his austerity-hit country desperately needs money.

Ireland, which has already accepted an international bailout, is suffering through deep spending cuts, tax hikes and rising unemployment as it tries to pull the debt-burdened economy back from brink of bankruptcy. "Tax(es) nestling in the band's bank account should be helping to keep open the hospitals, schools and libraries that are closing all over Ireland," Dewar said.

U2, the country's most successful band, was heavily criticized in 2006 for moving its corporate base from Ireland to the Netherlands, where royalties on music incur virtually no tax. Bono, guitarist The Edge and U2's other members — bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen — are among the country's wealthiest residents.

Forbes magazine has estimated the band earned $195 million last year, mostly through its hugely profitable "360 Degrees" world tour.