Ariana Grande's concert tragic bombing in Manchester was one of the most horrible things that happened in recent human memory. The tragedy that has befallen the families of the deceased and those injured is something not to speak lightly of, and it is also easy to see the singer traumatized. Perhaps this is why, in a show of defiance against terror acts and humanitarianism, Grande is now reported to be organizing a benefit concert meant to help the families of the victims of the terrorism act.
'One Love Manchester': a benefit concert for victims of the Manchester bombing
Grande, together with her manager Scooter Braun and two of UK's biggest promoters are organizing "One Love Manchester," a concert that will raise money to help the victims of the bombing. Besides the obvious financial gain, this is also meant to show that such acts will not break people and get them into hiding but rising together, instead, to pick up the pieces stronger than before.
Melvin Benn of Festival Republic told Billboard that the concert was Ariana's brainchild. "It was very important to her to support the victims and show a level of defiance that stands up to this bloodlust and ambivalence towards innocent individuals and tells the terrorists that they are not going to stop us," Benn said.
More of Ariana Grande's fellow musicians already signed up to the concert. They first got Coldplay saying 'yes' to performing at the benefit event, followed by other top names like Pharrell, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Mily Cyrus, Usher, Niall Horan and Take That. Apart from Coldplay, all of these artists will be playing with Ariana Grande's backing band.
They also got a school choir composed of Manchester students to sing with them.
Those who had tickets to the May 22 Ariana concert — the exact same event when the bombing occurred — will get free admission to the benefit concert. Ticketmaster will begin selling General Admission tickets for "One Love Manchester" starting Thursday, 10 AM BST.
All proceeds from the ticket sales will go to the "We Love Manchester" emergency fund.
What about event security?
To finally talk about the elephant in the room,what about safety measures? Melvin Benn said that the first person they called was the chief constable of the Greater Manchester Police. He admitted that if the chief told them it could never happen, then it wouldn't. However, the chief surprised Benn when he "embraced the idea." Apparently, the chief was also all for showing that the people of Manchester are not easily broken, as well. It was said that security personnel will be doubled, with the police giving its full level of commitment to securing the event.
"One Love Manchester" will be Ariana Grande's first public appearance since the May 22 attack.
