It has been almost two weeks since Ariana Grande’s concert in Manchester and two weeks since the London attack. Families of victims are still picking up the pieces from the tragedy. Ariana returns to Manchester together with other celebrities like Katy Perry, Coldplay, Justin Bieber, Take That, Robbie Williams, and Miley Cyrus. Ariana’s boyfriend Mac Miller and these celebs joined Ariana and took the stage on June 4, Sunday, to help raise funds for these families through the One Love Manchester Benefit concert. This was organized in just barely a week and was attended by around 50,000 fans.
On May 22, Ariana Grande’s concert at the Manchester Arena took a tragic turn when a suicide bomber detonated a bomb right outside the arena as the concert ended. This took the lives of 22 people and injured 116 more. At that time, Ariana’s spokesperson says she was okay. A few hours after, Ariana took to Twitter a message saying, “broken, from the bottom of my heart, I am so sorry. I don’t have words.”
Ariana Grande back on stage in Manchester, One Love Manchester earns nearly $3M
The One Love Manchester concert was organized by Ariana Grande. It was a star-studded show with appearances from British rock band Coldplay and British singer Robie Williams. American stars like Katy Perry, Justin Biber, Miley Cyrus, Pharell Williams and more all took part in this momentous event. Other celebrities who were present were Take That, Niall Horan, Little Mix and Balck Eyed Peas. The concert took place at the Old Trafford cricket ground which was around 2 miles away from the Manchester Arena.
A report by The Guardian says Ariana played all her hits as ordered by the mother of 15-year-old Olivia Campbell who died in the London attack. The 23-year-old singer also did a duet with Chris Martin of Coldplay and sang Oasis’ “Don’t Look Back In Anger.”
The benefit concert was such a great success earning around $3 or around £2.3M which went straight to the We Love Manchester Emergency fund as reported by the British Red Cross on Twitter. ABC reveals that a total of $9M even before the concert had concluded which included donations and ticket sales.
According to Just Giving Page, the money that has been raised will be used to “assist the victims of the attack, their families, and dependents.” The excess would be used to “respond to similar events in the UK.” Those who would still like to make donations can still do so through the British Red Cross.
It was a challenge for Ariana Grande since the London attack. She has received some negative comments about her heading home straight to Florida right after the attack. Piers Morgan, a British TV personality, specifically made this comment and immediately took it back. He posted on Twitter saying he now admires the young woman. In his tweet he said, “I misjudged you Ariana Grande and I apologize. You’re an admirable young woman and this is a magnificent night. Respect.”
Ariana Grande visited victims at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital within the week of the London attack and has now made a great impact through organizing the One Love Manchester Benefit Concert. Indeed Ariana Grande, respect.