The world Manchester
Concert watched by 100m in 50 countries UK viewers donate nearly £3m in 3 hours
THEY watched the tribute concert in their millions – and generous Brits matched the spirit of One Love Manchester by donating millions.
More than £2.7million was pledged in just three hours as Ariana Grande and her A-list friends paid tribute to the city and its people at Old Trafford Cricket Ground on Sunday night.
It brought the total raised for the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund for the terror victims and their families to £10.2million – and the money made from ticket sales and paid by host broadcasters is yet to be added to the total.
The star-studded benefit gig drew the UK’s largest TV audience so far this year.
Viewers were in awe of 23-year-old Ariana’s humility as she celebrated an evening “so light, so filled with fun, love and bright energy”.
Viewing numbers for the BBC’s coverage peaked at 14.5million and averaged 10.9million. A total of 22.6million people in the UK tuned in over the course of the three-hour broadcast.
The gig was screened in more than 50 countries and worldwide ratings are expected to top 100million.
Many networks, including US broadcasters ABC, still had to declare their audience figures last night.
Facebook said 38million users tuned in to their live stream, while Ariana’s personal YouTube channel attracted 9.2million viewers on its stream.
There were nearly 1.1million requests to watch live on the BBC’s iPlayer, breaking the previous record set by the London 2012 opening ceremony.
Of the 7.4million Twitter posts using the official hashtag #OneLoveManchester, 68 per cent were from overseas.
Despite sharing a stage with the likes of Take That, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Coldplay, the standout performer on the night was undoubtedly Ariana herself.
The pint-sized pop star, devastated by the carnage at her concert on May 22, has garnered universal praise for the dignity she showed as she returned the city to honour the 22 young people who lost their lives in the suicide bombing.
New Order’s Peter Hook, whose daughter Jessica is on crutches after being injured in the attack at the Manchester Arena, gave the singer a rave review.
He said the One Love concert was a “wonderful way to show we are going to stand together”, adding: “I think Ariana has handled herself very, very well.”
The singer’s friend Miley Cyrus, who also performed, said: “Ariana has proved that she’s a good role model for all the young girls out here.”
Even former critic Piers Morgan, who blasted the young star for flying back to Florida straight after the bombing, retracted his criticism.
He tweeted: “I misjudged you, Ariana Grande, and I apologise. You’re an admirable young woman & this is a magnificent night. Respect.”
Ariana has released a reissue of her 2014 hit One Last Time, with proceeds going to the emergency fund. It climbed to No2 in the charts yesterday.