Opinion split over Arena’s benefit gig
ADVICE AND ANGER AS THE FIRST CONCERT AT VENUE AFTER BOMBING IS ANNOUNCED
SURVIVORS of the Manchester bomb planning to attend the Arena’s re-opening benefit gig have been urged to consider the ‘emotional challenge’ of returning to the scene of the atrocity.
Thousands of people are expected to attend the We Are Manchester concert on September 9.
Within minutes of the M.E.N. announcing the show was to go ahead, opinion among readers on Facebook was fiercely divided. Some people affected by the bomb have said they will never set foot in the venue again.
Darryl Atkinson, whose 28-year-old son John died in the May 22 attack, has said the decision to host the concert there is ‘disrespectful’ and has him absolutely disgusted.’
Others say they won’t give into fear, and that returning to the Arena is a mark of respect.
Nick Taylor, chief executive of the Foundation For Peace, the Warringtonbased charity set up in memory of IRA victims Johnathan Ball and Tim Parry, warned that in the case of survivors of traumatic incidents, returning to the scene isn’t always good.
The Peace Foundation has already been back to the venue with a number of people affected.
“The foundation would say it’s a personal choice if people want to go,” Nick said. “But this is going to be a very emotionally challenging event. We suggest people affected by the attack think carefully about whether this is the right concert for them to go to.
“If people are going to go, they need to know our team from the Survivors Assistance Network are going to be at the arena to provide support, so they won’t be alone.
“There’s no real evidence that going back to the scene of an event is totally helpful to people, it depends on your character.”
Profits from the concert will go towards a new fund to create a permanent memorial.
While the news has been welcomed by many, some caught up in the atrocity say they should have been notified.
Lisa Newton, 46, was at the concert with her daughter Amelia Mae Thompson when the bomb went off. Both escaped uninjured but Amelia Mae remains traumatised.
“The first everyone heard about this was reading it in the news,” Lisa said. “How hard would it have been to send out an email, make a phone call or even have a meeting with the families about plans to re-open it?” Concert organisers said: “The Foundation For Peace and Manchester council have been engaged with various family liaison organisations for a number of weeks in order to ensure that as many of the victims’ families as possible were aware of the announcement before it was made.” Nick Taylor