Back to Manchester. Ariana Grande is set to perform at the Manchester Pride Live event on August 25, more than two years after a suicide bomber killed 22 people at her concert in northwest England.
“manchester babes, i’m so thrilled to be headlining pride. my heart,” the 25-year-old popstar tweeted on Monday, February 25. “i cant wait to see u and i love u so so much.”
manchester babes, i’m so thrilled to be headlining pride. my heart. i cant wait to see u and i love u so so much.
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) February 25, 2019
After a fan tweeted at Grande to “do an actual tour date” in Manchester, the “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored” singer added, “we are still working on something a little more special for you guys. it takes a while to put these things together but hopefully i can tell you when i see you at pride. i love u. hope that’s alright.”
Manchester Pride Live organizer Mark Fletcher told the Associated Press on Monday that, “We’re truly honored to be welcoming Ariana back to the city to help us celebrate LGBT+ life.”
Less than a month after the fatal Manchester Arena attack in May 2017, Grande returned to England to host “One Love Manchester,” a concert benefitting the victims.
During the Nickelodeon alum’s Dangerous Woman Diaries YouTube docuseries, which was released in November 2018, Grande shared a letter she wrote to fans eight months after the attack.
“It’s been eight months since the attack at our show at the Manchester Arena. It’s impossible to know where to start or to know what to say about this part. May 22, 2017, will leave me speechless and filled with questions for the rest of my life,” she penned. “Music is an escape. Music is the safest thing I’ve ever known. Music — pop music, stan culture — is something that brings people together, introduces them to some of their best friends, and makes them feel like they can be themselves. It is comfort. It is fun. It is expression. It is happiness. It is the last thing that would ever harm someone.”
Grande added that “the spirit of the people of Manchester, the families affected by this horrendous tragedy, and [her] fans around the world” have “permanently impacted all of us for the rest of our lives.”
“Their love, strength, and unity showed me, my team, my dancers, band, and entire crew not to be defeated,” the singer wrote. “To continue during the scariest and saddest of times. To not let hate win. But instead, love as loudly as possible, and to appreciate every moment. … I think of Manchester constantly and will carry this with me every day for the rest of my life.”
