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A benefit concert called “One Love Manchester” will be held on Sunday, June 4, at 7:00 p.m. UK time, 2:00 p.m. Eastern, headlined by Ariana Grande.
The event will take place just two weeks after a suicide attacker set off a bomb in a foyer area of the Manchester Arena during Ariana Grande’s Dangerous Woman Tour. Many fans who were leaving the show at the time that the bomb was detonated were injured and 22 people were killed in the blast.
Days later, Grande announced that she’d be returning to the UK and bringing some friends along to raise money for the victims and their families. The concert will be held at the Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester. On Friday, June 1, Grande penned an open letter that she posted on Twitter.
“Music is something that everyone on Earth can share. Music is meant to heal us, to bring us together, to make us happy,” Grande wrote in part. You can read the rest of that letter here.
Here is what you need to know:
1. Tickets Sold Out in Less Than 6 Minutes
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Tickets for Sunday night’s event went on sale on Thursday, June 1, and sold out in less than six minutes. According to E! News, nearly 45,000 tickets were sold for $52 each. Fans who were at the original show were given free tickets to attend the benefit concert.
Those who wanted to purchase tickets to this event were able to do so on Ticketmaster at the time of the sale. Once clicking on the event, Ticketmaster’s website placed people in a holding pattern and allowed them to purchase seats as they became available.
The queues to try and get @katysprismlight these @ArianaGrande tickets are real…
Although the show was considered “sold out” within such a short amount of time, the official One Love Manchester Twitter page encouraged fans to keep trying. It is unclear if any more tickets will become available before Sunday’s show. If you visit the Ticketmaster website, there is a message that reads, “We currently do not have any tickets on-sale for Ariana Grande & Friends: One Love Manchester.”
2. One Love Manchester Will Be Televised in the United States
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On Friday morning’s Good Morning America, news that the benefit concert would be televised was announced. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the concert will air live in its entirety on ABC’s Freeform starting at 2:00 p.m. Eastern in the United States. For those unable to watch the live show or record it on their DVRs, there will be a highlight reel airing on ABC following the NBA Finals.
The show is set to run three hours from start to finish.
3. Katy Perry, Justin Bieber & More Will Join Grande on Sunday
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Justin Bieber, Black Eyed Peas, Coldplay, Miley Cyrus, Niall Horan, Little Mix, Katy Perry, Take That, Usher, Robbie Williams, and Pharrell Williams are all slated to join Ariana Grande on Sunday night. There are also rumors of potential surprise guests.
According to the Telegraph, there have been rumors that the band Oasis will reunite on June 4, to take the stage for an epic performance. However, at least one former band member has maintained that they won’t be attending.
“Mate, I don’t think so. I mean, I’m up for it but I think we’re booked for a gig somewhere,” Liam Gallagher said. “I think we [Liam, who is touring as a solo artist, and his band] are playing in Germany, so we’re already booked, but I would have loved to have done it,” he added.
4. Proceeds Will Go to the British Red Cross’ Manchester Emergency Fund
Proceeds from the show will benefit the British Red Cross’ “We Love Manchester” emergency fund. The fund was set up to assist those affected by the terror attack on the May 22 concert.
“Manchester City Council has launched the We Love Manchester emergency fund, an appeal in partnership with the British Red Cross, to support those affected by the attack and their families. The Manchester Evening News, who launched the We Stand Together appeal raising £1m, have joined forces with the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund.”
“The fund’s total currently stands at more than £6 million, with Red Cross chief executive Mike Adamson praising the Grande’s ‘gesture of solidarity,'” The Telegraph reports.
Those who are not able to attend the concert but still want to donate money to the victims and their families are asked to do so via JustGiving.
5. Security Has Been Beefed Up
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Returning to Manchester for a benefit concert was something that Grande decided to do fairly early on. While there are safety concerns that exceed the norm, law enforcement officials in the area have prepared extra safety measures and feel confident that the venue and the people attending will be well protected.
“For this show, it’s expected that attendees and artists will be willing to put up with more security checks, longer security lines. They will be aggressive in stepping in if something doesn’t look right, which is what we want them to do in the name of being safe,” venue safety expert and Vice President of the Event Safety Alliance Steven Adelman told Fox News.
“Hold the concert and show these miscreants that we will not be intimidated by their cowardly attacks. The crowd inside is easy to protect; access control will detect any attempt to bring in a device or any weapon. That is why they attacked outside after the concert ended,” said former U.S. Federal Agent and CEO of Global Security Group, Inc., David Katz.
