Ariana Grande to headline Manchester Pride
Ariana Grande performs on stage on June 4, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Getty Images/Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester)
Ariana Grande has been announced as a headliner for Manchester Pride in 2019.
Manchester Pride announced the line-up for the August celebration on Monday (February 25), confirming that Grande would be returning to the city.
Ariana Grande announced as Manchester Pride headliner
The poignant gig will come two years on from the May 2017 terror attack on a Grande concert in the city, which killed 23 people.
Grande will perform to the 9,000 capacity venue on Sunday, August 25.
Tickets for the event are still on sale online, with a one-day pass costing £42.50 each.
Ariana Grande is set to headline Manchester Pride 2019.
Grande will be supported by pop group Bananarama and The Voice UK star Becky Hill.
Meanwhile, queer pop group Years & Years will headline the event on Saturday, August 24, alongside Kim Petras.
Liberty X and Saara Aalto are also set to perform at the event’s Gay Village Party.
Manchester Pride has hit back at the steep price of tickets for the festival.
Ariana Grande is an honorary citizen of Manchester
Grande was made an honorary citizen of Manchester by the city council in 2017 in the wake of the terror attack.
She returned to the city in June 2017, two weeks after the attack, for star-studded charity benefit concert One Love Manchester.
The concert supported the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund, helping to raise £2.35 million in donations for survivors of the attack and the families of victims.
In an emotional interview with Beats 1 Radio in August 2018, Grande spoke about the impact of the attack, as she released a song inspired by the public response.
She said: “It’s just about like just being there for each other and helping each other through scary times and anxiety.
“I just wanted to do a song to make people feel good – and less alone. It’s not just about that [the Manchester Arena bombing], you know, it’s also about personal demons and anxiety and more intimate tragedies as well.
“Mental health is so important. People don’t pay enough mind to it.”
She added: “You try not to give into fear because obviously that’s the whole point of being here – that was the point of finishing my tour was to set any example for my fans, who were fearless enough to show up to the f***ing shows.
“You want just to not be afraid, because of course that’s what [the terrorists] want. If you give them that, then they’ve won…but the truth is that it’s f***ing scary, it’s scary. It’s scary going anywhere and you look at places differently.”
