Thousands converge on Manchester for Arena attack remembrance event
Date published: 23 May 2018
A beautiful collection of Manchester bees was left by year one pupils from St Thomas' primary school in Werneth
Thousands of people marked the one-year anniversary of the Manchester attack by singing together to Oasis, Take That and Ariana Grande songs at a remembrance event in the city last night.
Albert Square hosted the Manchester Together - With One Voice event, as a day of remembrance for the 22 who died in the arena bombing - including Royton mums Lisa Lees and Alison Howe - drew to a close.
A choir of survivors from the attack were among those who performed, with one young member of the group in tears during the emotional performance.
Other performances included Oasis hit Wonderwall, by Manchester's lesbian and gay chorus choir, and a group of emergency services staff singing Bridge Over Troubled Water.
The event, on a warm evening in Manchester, ended with a half-hour crowd singalong.
Noel Gallagher appeared on screen to introduce Don't Look Back In Anger - the track that became so popular in the days after the attack as a song of hope and defiance.
Take That's Never Forget followed as members of the crowd embraced and held their hands in the air - before The Beatles' All You Need Is Love rounded things off.
Around an hour and a half later, at 10.31pm, bells on Manchester Town Hall, St Ann's Church, and St Mary's RC Church rang to mark the time the bomb went off one year ago.
The commemorations began in the afternoon when Prince William and Theresa May attended a remembrance service at Manchester Cathedral, and were joined by the families and friends of those killed.
The attack happened a year ago, when Salman Abedi blew himself up in the foyer after a concert by Ariana Grande.
The blast killed 22 people and 800 others were physically or psychologically injured.
