Ariana Grande's benefit concert draws epic crowd

Ariana Grande is true to her word. After vowing to return to Manchester soon in the wake of the awful May 22 bombing, she finally committed on the first Sunday of June. That was thirteen days after a bomb exploded inside the Manchester Arena after a concert of Grande’s “Dangerous Woman” tour, where 22 were killed and over a hundred wounded. The singer had promised to hold a benefit concert there on half of the victims and the city as a whole, and that she was bringing some friends to help out.

So it was on June 4, when Grande and an ensemble gathering of performers wowed a 50,000 strong Manchester crowd in a truly heartwarming event.

Power of love

What transpired at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester last Sunday was one of the most crowning moments of awesome and heartwarming in the music industry lately. This was the venue for Ariana Grande’s “One love Manchester” special concert, where the singer and an all-star selection of artists played for the benefit of the Arena victims and their families, for whom all proceeds will be donated. The concentration of the crowd from a city which is still cautious after its recent tragedy sent a powerful message against fear and terrorism.

Also on hand with Grande at Manchester on that momentous day were the likes of Justin Bieber, the Black-Eyed Peas, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Usher, Pharrell Williams and Coldplay. In between songs, Ariana repeatedly expressed her gratitude to the crowd for turning out. "I want to thank you so much for coming together and being so loving and strong and unified,” she said. “I love you guys so much and I think that the kind of love and unity you're displaying is the kind of medicine that the world really needs right now."

Manchester resilience

The rest of Ariana Grande’s musical posse for “One Love Manchester” also threw their own two bits in between the numbers. Katy Perry spoke of the difficulty of “choosing love” after the pain of the bombing, but urged the audience to keep doing it.

Bieber also expressed his admiration for Manchester’s show of courage, proving his belief that “love always wins”.

That the concert was allowed to go on for Grande was a wonder, after the follow-up string of extremist violence in the UK this time in London Saturday June 3, a mere day before “One Love Manchester”. Security measures for the event were tight, but the hometown crowd assembled all the same. Before the concert Ariana also made time to visit the wounded concertgoers at Royal Manchester Hospital Friday June 2.