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Ariana Grande plans benefit concert for Manchester victims

Pop star Ariana Grande promised to return to Manchester to play a charity concert following a suicide attack at her show, as she urged fans to respond to the tragedy with love.

In her first substantive comments since Monday's tragedy, the singer shared a lengthy letter on her social media accounts saying she felt "uplift" by seeing fans' compassion after the blast which killed 22 people and was claimed by the Islamic State group.

The 23-year-old, who suspended her tour and returned to her Florida home to rest, said she planned a concert as "an expression of love for Manchester."

Pop star Ariana Grande promised Friday to return to Manchester to play a charity concert following a suicide attack at her show, as she urged fans to respond to the tragedy with love. Picture: AFP
Pop star Ariana Grande promised Friday to return to Manchester to play a charity concert following a suicide attack at her show, as she urged fans to respond to the tragedy with love. Picture: AFP

She said the concert would raise money for the victims of the attack and their families. The date has not yet been set.

"My heart, prayers and deepest condolences are with the victims of the Manchester Attack and their loved ones," she wrote in the essay posted on her social media accounts.

"Our response to this violence must be to come closer together, to help each other, to love more, to sing louder and to live more kindly and generously than we did before.

"We won't let this divide us. We won't let hate win," she said.

Grande praised the city of Manchester and her fans for how they have reacted to the tragedy.

She wrote: "The compassion, kindness, love, strength and oneness that you've shown one another this past week is the exact opposite of the heinous intentions it must take to pull off something as evil as what happened on Monday.

"YOU are the opposite. I am sorry for the pain and fear that you must be feeling and for the trauma that you, too, must be experiencing... We will not quit or operate in fear. We won't let this divide us.

"We will continue in honor of the ones we lost, their loved ones, my fans and all affected by this tragedy.


'Everyone on Earth can share' music

Grande wrote that her concert, by bringing people from varied backgrounds into the 21,000-capacity Manchester Arena, showed the power of music to unite.

"Music is something that everyone on Earth can share," she wrote.

"Music is meant to heal us, to bring us together, to make us happy," she said.

In the wake of the attack, Grande had faced criticism from some commentators in Britain, notably Piers Morgan, who said she should have stayed and visited hospitalized survivors rather than return home.

Grande in her statement said she has been focused "non-stop" on the victims and that "I will think of them with everything I do for the rest of my life."

Grande canceled two weeks of concerts, including two shows in London, after the attacks. She flew home on Tuesday after releasing a brief message saying she felt "broken."

She plans to resume her "Dangerous Woman" tour in Paris on June 7.

Despite the name of her tour and accompanying album, the former television child star turned bubblegum pop singer has rarely triggered controversy.

She has only occasionally shared personal views, including criticizing double-standards for women in entertainment, voicing support for gay rights and advocating a vegan diet to prevent animal cruelty.

Grande is not the only artist who plans a charity gig. Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, a Manchester native, said he will perform his first-ever solo show on Tuesday to support a Red Cross-backed appeal.