Four years later, Ariana Grande still takes time to remember the victims of the bombing that happened after her concert in Manchester, England.
“Although grief is ever-present and our relationship to it is constantly evolving and expressing itself in different ways every day, year round. … I know that this anniversary will never be an easy one. Please know that I am thinking of you today,” the Grammy winner, 27, wrote on Saturday, May 22, via her Instagram Story.
On May 22, 2017, Grande played a concert at Manchester Arena as a stop on her Dangerous Woman tour. After the show, an explosive device detonated in the foyer area as 14,200 attendees were leaving the venue. Over 500 people were injured and 22 victims died. Police deemed the incident both a terrorist attack and a suicide bombing.
“Manchester, my heart is with you today and always,” Grande added, above a list of victims’ names: John Atkinson, Courtney Boyle, Philip Tron, Kelly Brewster, Georgina Callander, Olivia Campbell-Hardy, Liam Curry, Chloe Rutherford, Wendy Fawell, Martyn Hett, Alison Howe, Lisa Lees, Megan Hurley, Nell Jones, Michelle Kiss, Angelika Klis, Marcin Klis, Morrell Leczkowski, Eilidh MacLeod, Elaine McIver, Saffie Rose Rouses and Jane Tweddle.
The “Thank U, Next” singer has been vocal about suffering from anxiety and post-traumatic stress after the incident.
“We see this s–t on the news, it affects you but not the same way. You feel bad, you tweet it, you post a picture, you send your condolences, you say something and then you move on. But Christmas comes and you’re thinking about it,” Grande said, choking up, during a 2018 Beats 1 Radio interview. “People are permanently affected by this s–t. Perspective, it changes everything. It changes your life quite a bit. You really want to be present, and follow happy impulses, and figure that out later. You want to just stay in the moment. You try not to give in to fear because obviously, that’s the whole point of being here.”
Grande headlined the “One Love Manchester” benefit in 2017, which also featured Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Coldplay, Pharrell Williams, the Black Eyed Peas and the late Mac Miller, and raised £7.3 million ($10.33 million) for the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund.
She returned to Manchester in 2019 to perform at a LGBTQ Pride event and made it clear how grateful she was to be back in the British city.
“I’m so happy to be with you, so thank you for having me,” Grande told the crowd at the time. “Sorry, I’m so nervous. I had so much more to say but I’m really very overwhelmed. So thank you. … Obviously, Manchester holds a very special place in my heart.”
