Blasting News recently reported that Ariana Grande is hosting the One Love Manchester Benefit Concert in aid of the victims of the recent Manchester Arena suicide bombing. She offered those fans who attended that concert free tickets to the benefit concert, leading to “unscrupulous” people falsely claiming they were at the scene, just to get free tickets.
‘Opportunists’ try to get free tickets to the One Love Manchester concert
According to Ticketmaster, the agency handling the benefit concert tickets, what they dubbed “opportunists” or “touts” are trying to get their hands on tickets aimed at fans affected by the attack, in order to get into the June 4 concert for free. ABC 7 quotes Ticketmaster as saying in a statement they had set aside 14,200 free tickets for the fans who were at the Manchester Arena concert. However, more than 25,000 people have applied for those free tickets, meaning slightly over 10,000 false applications had been made.
Deadline extended to ensure everyone gets the ticket they deserve
Ticketmaster continued by saying they are doing everything they can to ensure the tickets go to the people they are intended for and not opportunists who are trying to take advantage of the situation. They said they will even extend Friday’s deadline for tickets to One Love Manchester to ensure the tickets get into the right hands.
All-star appearances at One Love Manchester
The One Love Manchester concert will be held on Sunday at the Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground and besides Grande, it will feature all-star performances by Coldplay, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Niall Horan, Pharrell Williams, Take That and Usher.
All proceeds from the benefit concert will go to the We Love Manchester fund, organized by the Red Cross.
Grande reportedly arrived in London on June 2, accompanied by her rapper boyfriend Mac Miller, her mother Joan, and her father Edward Butera. The family accompanied the singer to give her moral support.
After the Manchester Arena attack, which killed 22 people and injured dozens more, Grande had returned home to Florida and cancelled part of her European tour, but she vowed to return to Manchester in order to spend time with her fans. This led to the organization of the benefit concert for the victims and their families.
One Love Manchester will be broadcast in the U.S.
The benefit concert will be broadcast live in the U.K.
on BBC1. The Hollywood Reporter says that One Love Manchester will also be featured on ABC and Freeform for U.S. viewers. Freeform will air the concert at 2 p.m. ET/PT.
Ben Sherwood, the Disney ABC Television Group President, said in a statement that when Grande and her fellow artists return to the stage, the world will be standing united with the victims and their families in Manchester and the U.K. Sherwood added that the message will be one of “love, hope and resilience.”