Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry to join Ariana Grande at Manchester charity concert
Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry will join Ariana Grande at a star-studded special charity concert in Manchester to raise funds for the victims of last week’s terror attack.
Coldplay, Pharrell Williams, Usher, Take That and One Direction member Niall Horan will also perform at the One Love Manchester concert on Sunday.
All net ticket proceeds from the show at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground will go to We Love Manchester Emergency Fund, set up Manchester City Council and the British Red Cross to help victims and their families after the bombing.
22 were killed in the terror attack, including gay fan Martyn Hett, 29, whose death prompted moving tributes from family members, friends and Mariah Carey.
Hett’s mother said last week that when she thinks of him, she just thinks happy thoughts.
The concert, which will adopt the #WeStandTogether hashtag used in the wake of the terror attack, will be broadcast on BBC One from the venue, which has a 50,000 capacity.
Last week, Grande said in a moving post on Twitter that she would be “returning to the incredibly brave city of Manchester to spend time with my fans and to have a benefit concert in honour of and to raise money for the victims and their families.”
She told fans: “We will not quit or operate in fear.
“We won’t let this divide us. We won’t let hate win.
“I don’t want to go the rest of the year without being able to see and hold and uplift my fans, the same way they continue to uplift me.
“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.”
She finished the post by pledging: “We will continue in honour of the ones we lost, their loved ones, my fans and all affected by this tragedy.
“They will be on my mind and in my heart every day and I will think of them with everything I do for the rest of my life.”
Tributes to the singer and her fans poured in from around the world after the attack, with messages from fellow popstars like Taylor Swift, local musicians including Liam Gallagher and The Charlatans, and world leaders.
In the press release for the event, Grande joined with the organisers of the One Love Manchester concert in thanking local groups and individuals for their help in making the event possible.
They thanked Greater Manchester Police and all the emergency services, Manchester City Council, Trafford Council and Transport for Greater Manchester.
Grande also gave thanks to Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick and his club and foundation after they moved the kick-off time of his testimonial to accommodate the concert.
And she thanked Live Nation, which the statement indicated was “underwriting the cost of the event”.
