by Graham Pierrepoint
The Manchester Arena suicide bomb attack that killed 22 people – minors among them – has been marked as a tremendous tragedy worldwide. There have been tributes from all corners of the globe made to those who lost their lives in the murderous attack, an event which has left many more people still fighting for life in hospital and receiving treatment for their injuries. It may only have been a week ago, but there has been quick movement to build a charity concert to raise money for families affected by the disaster – and such a benefit event is set to take place this Sunday, June 4th.
Headlining will be Ariana Grande, whose concert was host to the hundreds of those affected by the tragedy last Monday – after the star announced publicly that she intended to honor those fans killed and injured in the blast with a new show that would directly benefit families involved. Those who attended the concert that took place on May 22nd will be granted free access to the One Love Manchester show this weekend, to be held at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground.
While the event is set to be hugely emotional and a great chance to help those affected by the disaster, it is also set to be star-studded – Grande will be supported by Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Pharrell, Coldplay, Usher, Niall Horan and Take That – and, at the time of writing, it is thought that more stars are to be announced imminently. This will be great news for music fans who want to give to those impacted by the tragedy – and it will also help to celebrate the lives of those lost, and forever affected, by the bombing.
The Manchester bombing has been followed up by a series of arrests in and around the area, with UK police having made up to 14 arrests a week after the disaster took place. The UK’s threat level was reduced from ‘critical’ to ‘severe’, the level which it has been at for some years – while it no longer means that a terrorist attack is due any time, it does still mean that the country’s police and security experts will need to be on high alert. So far, it seems that the forces have done a sterling job in investigating a potential crime ring that led to the bombing – and it’s hoped that many more breakthroughs will continue.