SUP FOR THE CUP
Cops tell Brits to ‘enjoy weekend’ so we’re... And cheers Ariana
THE hottest day of the year and the FA Cup Final at Wembley this evening will give defiant Brits a chance to party.
And we’ll be toasting singer Ariana Grande who will play a benefit gig for families of the 22 victims who died at her concert in Manchester on Monday.
HEARTBROKEN Ariana Grande has pledged to return to “incredibly brave” Manchester for a gig of hope.
The US singer, speaking for the first time since the bombing, said she was desperate to visit her fans as soon as possible.
She said: “I don’t want to go the rest of the year without being able to see and hold and uplift my fans, the same way they continue to uplift me.”
The 22-year-old said planning is under way for the concert in the city later this year.
It will raise money for the injured and victims’ families.
Ariana said she had been thinking about the victims “non-stop” and praised the “inspiring” reaction to the atrocity.
She wrote: “The compassion, kindness, love, strength and oneness that you’ve shown one another this past week is the exact opposite of the heinous intentions it must take to pull off something as evil as what happened Monday. YOU are the opposite.”
Desperate
Singer Liam Gallagher has pledged to play his own free concert in his home city. The ex-Oasis star said it was “our duty to give people a good time” following the attack.
Meanwhile, medics are battling round the clock to save survivors.
Doctors and nurses have volunteered to work on their days off in a desperate fight to stop the death toll rising from 22.
Last night 23 of the most seriously injured were still being treated in critical care.
Among them was 15-year-old Laura McIntyre, who suffered serious blast burns.
Her pal Eilidh MacLeod, 14, who had travelled with her from the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, died in the explosion.
Laura’s parents said: “We know that Laura is in the best possible place and is receiving the best care that she can. Our hearts and minds have been with Eilidh’s family since we heard their news.’’
The dad of 14-year-old Ella McGovern told how his daughter was well enough to be discharged from hospital.
Ella, from Haslingden, Lancs, suffered eight shrapnel wounds to her legs. Her dad Rockey, 39, said: “She was in the region of about 15m from the blast. I think both her ears are perforated.”
NHS England said of 116 people hospitalised by the bombing, 66 were still being treated last night.