One Love Manchester was a benefit concert and British television special on 4 June 2017, organised by American singer Ariana Grande, Simon Moran, Melvin Benn and Scooter Braun in response to the Manchester Arena bombing after Grande's concert two weeks earlier. It took place at Old Trafford Cricket Ground, and was attended by 55,000 people. Guest stars included Justin Bieber, the Black Eyed Peas, Coldplay, Miley Cyrus, Mac Miller, Marcus Mumford, Niall Horan, Little Mix, Katy Perry, Take That, Imogen Heap, Pharrell Williams, Robbie Williams and Liam Gallagher.
Proceeds from the event went to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund established by Manchester City Council and the British Red Cross to help the victims and their families. The British Red Cross received more than £10 million in donations in the 12 hours following the concert. Networks from at least 50 countries broadcast the concert live, which was simultaneously streamed live on various platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
New Yorks Vulture.com ranked the event as the No. 1 concert of 2017.
Background
On 22 May 2017, a suicide bomb attack was carried out at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, following a performance by American singer Ariana Grande as part of her Dangerous Woman Tour. 22 of the concert-goers and parents who were at the entrance waiting to pick up their children following the show were killed, and more than 800 were injured, 116 of those seriously.
Within a few hours of the bombing, Grande herself posted on Twitter: "broken. from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don't have words." The tweet briefly became the most-liked tweet in history. Grande subsequently suspended her tour and flew to her mother's home in Boca Raton, Florida. On 26 May, she announced that she would host a benefit concert in Manchester for the victims of the attack.
Before main event
Developments and planning
Event tickets were made available on 1 June 2017 for £40, and sold with no booking fees. These tickets sold out within 6 minutes of going on sale. Fans who were at the concert of 22 May could apply to attend at no cost. The application ended on 31 May at 17:00, but was extended till 22:00 to allow as many people at the concert on the 22nd to apply to be there as possible. Metrolink offered free travel for concertgoers to and from the Old Trafford tram stop. Uber also said that fares of passengers travelling to and from the concert will be donated to charity.
Following the London Bridge attack that occurred the day before the show, Greater Manchester Police announced that security would be tighter than planned. They also advised attendees not to bring bags into the venue for security reasons.
Tickets for the concert were found to be listed for sale on the online auction site eBay, at prices above the original sales price. However, eBay responded by removing these listings from their site.
Main event
A minute's silence was held before Marcus Mumford opened the concert, at the request of Mumford, in memory of those killed both in Manchester and in London.
After Grande's first performance of the night, Stevie Wonder appeared via video link. After Heap's performance, a video of prominent Manchester footballer David Beckham reading a poem dedicated to the city was played. Videos of other artists and celebrities, including Halsey, Bastille, Anne-Marie, Demi Lovato, Jennifer Hudson, Blossoms, Chance the Rapper, Camila Cabello, The Chainsmokers, DJ Khaled, Little Mix, Circa Waves, Kendall Jenner, Clean Bandit, Dua Lipa, Sean Paul, Nick Grimshaw, Kings of Leon, Sam Smith, Rita Ora, Shawn Mendes, Twenty One Pilots, Paul McCartney, U2 and the players of Manchester United and Manchester City declaring their solidarity with Manchester were also shown.
Liam Gallagher, former lead singer of the local band Oasis, made a surprise appearance near the end of the concert. Previously, he had stated he wanted to perform but indicated a conflict with the Rock im Park festival in Germany. He flew in straight from his performance in Germany. Coincidentally, he was also scheduled to perform at the Rock am Ring festival two days prior, but the rest of that festival day was cancelled before his scheduled performance due to terror suspicions.
Usher was due to appear but did not perform due to parental duties. He appeared with other musicians in the pre-recorded video sending best wishes to Manchester.