On Sunday, pop stars gathered in Manchester, England, to perform a benefit concert headlined by Ariana Grande. In late May, 22 people, including children, were murdered while exiting the singer’s concert in Manchester by a radical Islamic suicide bomber.
The concert, which came just one day after the fatal radical Islamic attack in London, included performances by Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Mumford and Sons, Pharrell Williams and Coldplay, along with other artists, to benefit the “We Love Manchester Emergency Fund.” The victims of the Manchester attack were honored during the event, dubbed the “One Love Manchester” concert.
“I want to thank you for coming together and being so loving and strong and unified,” 23-year-old Grande told the crowd.
“I love you guys so much, and I think that the kind of love and unity that you’re displaying is the medicine that the world really needs right now,” she added.
Among other songs, an emotional Grande performed “My Everything” with the Parrs Wood High School Choir, whose earlier tribute to Manchester victims went viral.
Honoring the victims of the Manchester attack, the pop star said she spoke to the mother of 15-year-old victim Olivia Campbell, who said her daughter would have wanted to here Grande’s hits.
“She told me Olivia would have wanted to hear the hits,” said the singer, before playing “Side to Side.”
In the days following the attack, Grande made her rounds to hospitals to visit with victims of the Islamic attack.
Justin Bieber notably won over the crowd with his message, telling concert goers, “God is good is the midst of the evil. God is good in the midst of the darkness. He loves you.”
The singer added, “I just want to honor those who were lost, those that were taken from us. … We love you so much, to the families we love you so much.”
Grande closed the event with a tear-filled performance of “Over the Rainbow.”
As noted by the BBC, the concert scored huge ratings, with “an average of 10.9 million viewers, peaking at 14.5 million as the gig drew to a close.” The concert was said to have raise over $2.5 million for victims and their families.