GettyAriana Grande has paid tribute to the 22 victims of the Manchester Arena attack which happened one year ago today, May 22, 2017.
Taking to Twitter, the One Last Time singer tweeted how she was thinking of ‘you all’ today before saying she was sending ‘all of the light and warmth’ on this challenging day.
Ariana’s tribute comes ahead of a number of services due to take place in Manchester today, which will mark the first anniversary of the fatal attack.
thinking of you all today and every day ? I love you with all of me and am sending you all of the light and warmth I have to offer on this challenging day
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) May 22, 2018
Relatives of those who died in the attack will attend a service at Manchester Cathedral and will be joined by the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, as well as the Prime Minister, Theresa May.
A national one-minute silence will be held at 2.30pm to pay tribute to the 22 people who died, while a public event will be held in St Albert’s Square this evening to give people the chance to come together again and stand in solidarity.
ITV reports the event will be supported by choirs from across the North West and will include a selection of songs which ‘evoke pride and solidarity’.
GettyFollowing the St Albert’s Square event, song lyrics will be projected onto the pavements and buildings of St Ann’s Square, where the largest of the bombing tributes sprung up last year.
The projections will run for five nights and it’s hoped the area will serve as a space for reflection, as well as somewhere to pay respects to those who died.
GettyThe arena bombing is the deadliest terror attack and the first suicide bombing to take place in the UK since the 7/7 attacks back in 2005.
23 people were killed in the attack, including the bomber, and a further 139 people were injured, while hundreds more suffered psychological trauma.
22-year-old Salman Ramadan Abedi was identified as the bomber and it’s believed he detonated an improvised shrapnel bomb, packed with nuts and bolts, in the foyer area of the Manchester Arena.
Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said Abedi had been part of a network of collaborators and Home Secretary Amber Rudd confirmed he had been known to security services reports the BBC.
Abedi left Britain on 15 April and travelled to Libya before returning to the UK on 18 May. It’s assumed he was intent on committing the attack within days of his return, as CCTV showed him purchasing more items for the bomb soon after he came back.
These included nuts from a DIY store which were used for shrapnel, said Russ Jackson, head of the North West counter terrorism unit.
Abedi deliberately targeted children as they left the Ariana Grande concert which was part of her 2017 Dangerous Woman Tour.
GettyFollowing the attack, Ariana posted on her official Twitter account:
broken. from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don’t have words.
She went on to return to Manchester where she hosted a benefit concert to raise funds for the victims.
The One Love Manchester concert was subsequently announced and Grande was supported by artists including Coldplay, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Take That, Miley Cyrus and Pharrell Williams.
Proceeds from the concert were then donated to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund, which was established after the attack by Manchester City Council and the British Red Cross to support victims.
Our thoughts continue to go out to all those affected.
More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.