How tragedy turned pop star Ariana Grande into an honourary Mancunian
Ariana Grande sealed a unique bond with her teenage fanbase and the city of Manchester just a few hours after the suicide bomb attack at her concert.
The next morning, she responded on Twitter saying she was broken.
Grande cancelled her other two shows in the UK and returned home to America.
Her management later issued a statement explaining Grande needed time to “assess the situation and pay proper respects to those lost”.
Within two weeks she was back in the city.
In the days that followed, Manchester came together as a community to take stock of what had happened and mourn its dead.
The bomber’s identity was revealed as Libyan-born Salman Abedi and the 22 victims were named, the youngest, Saffie Rose Roussos, was just eight years old.
Aside from a few Islamophobic internet trolls, Mancunians of all races and religions united to show the world their city was unbreakable.
A video, which captured the moment when a crowd spontaneously began singing Oasis’
Don’t Look Back in Anger after a minute’s silence for the victims, embodied the spirit of a community that refused to be divided by the cowardly attack.
Meanwhile in the US, Grande, 23, who had been criticised by sections of the British press for leaving the city after the attack, was coming up with a way to help those affected.
Four days after the bombing, the singer announced she was organising a benefit concert to raise money for the victims and their families and had invited several “friends and musicians” to join her.
On Twitter, Grande wrote: “Our response to this violence must be to come closer together, to help each other, to love more, to sing louder and to live more kindly and generously than we did before.”
The One Love Manchester concert took place on June 4 with tickets selling out less than six minutes after going on sale. Grande was joined by stars including Take That, Miley Cyrus, Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber and Coldplay at the gig, which was broadcast live in at least 50 countries.
Before taking to the stage at the Emirates Old Trafford, Grande visited fans who had been injured in hospital, including Jaden Farrell-Mann, 10, who suffered fractures to both legs and shrapnel wounds when the bomb exploded.
She also met families of the victims, including the father and brother of Saffie Roussos, whose mother suffered severe injuries from the blast.
Saffie’s father Peter Roussos, recalled the moment he met Grande to the BBC: “I wanted to tell her what she meant to Saffie.
“I wanted to tell her from a father’s point of view that she’s got nothing to be sorry for it wasn’t her fault.”
Grande’s resilience and determination to return to the city won the hearts of Mancunians and in recognition of her organisation of the One Love concert, she was made the first honourary citizen of Manchester in July.
Responding to the news on Instagram, Grande wrote: “I don’t know what to say.
“Words don’t suffice. I’m moved and honoured. My heart is very much still there.
“I love you. Thank you.”