- Title: Ariana Grande says will hold benefit concert in Manchester
- Date: 26th May 2017
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - NOVEMBER 20, 2016) (UNRESTRICTED POOL) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF POP SINGER ARIANA GRANDE AT AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS
- Embargoed: 9th June 2017 20:20
- Keywords: concert benefit concert attack Manchester Ariana Grande
- Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; INTERNET;
- City: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; INTERNET;
- Country: USA
- Topics: Bombing (non-military),Conflicts/War/Peace,Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA0016IH8DON
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: U.S. pop star Ariana Grande said on Friday (May 26) that she will hold a benefit concert in Manchester for the victims of Monday's suicide bombing at her show in the English city.
Grande, 23, said in a message on her Instagram account that a date for the concert had not yet been worked out.
Monday's suicide bombing, which killed 22 people and injured more than 100, many of them young people, took place just after Grande had finished performing. She later canceled several concerts scheduled in London and Europe through June 5.
"I'll be returning to the incredibly brave city of Manchester to spend time with my fans and to have a benefit concert in honor of and to raise money for the victims and their families. ... I will have details to share with you as soon as everything is confirmed," Grande wrote.
She also tweeted a link to a fundraising site for the victims organized by the Manchester Evening News, which has so far brought in some 1.7 million pounds ($2.1 million)
Grande tweeted after the bombing she was "broken" by the attack by British-born Salman Abedi that was claimed by Islamic State. She returned to her Florida home on Tuesday.
In her Instagram posting, she said that her "Dangerous Woman" concert tour was intended to be a "space for my fans, a place for them to escape, to celebrate, to heal, to feel safe and to be themselves."
She said the victims would be "on my mind and in my heart everyday ... for the rest of my life."
But she added defiantly: "We will not quit or operate in fear. We won't let this divide us. We won't let hate win."
Former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, a Manchester native, said on Friday he would donate the proceeds of his show next Tuesday in the city to a fund supporting victims and their families.
Gallagher tweeted that he was "in total shock and absolutely devastated" by the attack. - Copyright Holder: POOL (CAN SELL)
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