Two years after the devastating Manchester terrorist attack [1] that took place during one of Ariana Grande's 2017 tour stops [2] in the northwest England city, the 25-year-old — who set to headline the Manchester Pride Live event [3] on Aug. 25, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Chief executive Mark Fletcher said on Monday that organisers are "truly honoured to be welcoming Ariana back to the city to help us celebrate LGBT+ life."
On May 22, 2017, Grande had just wrapped up her stop in the city when a suicide bomber blew himself up [4] outside of Manchester Arena, taking the lives of 22 people, many of whom were children, in the blast. The pop star, who just celebrated the release of her history-making album Thank U, Next [5], didn't let the harrowing attack stop her from being there for her fans [6] — she returned to the arena just two weeks later to host a star-studded memorial concert, One Love Manchester, that she also helped organise.
Grande has already started tweeting about her excitement about performing at the Pride event, which you can see ahead:
manchester babes, i'm so thrilled to be headlining pride. my heart. i cant wait to see u and i love u so so much.
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) February 25, 2019 [7]
we are still working on something a little more special for you guys. it takes a while to put these things together but hopefully i can tell you when i see you at pride. i love u. hope that's alright. 🖤 https://t.co/zSsx57OQDK [8]
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) February 25, 2019 [9]
i love u wayyyyy more https://t.co/IpTETPy8dz [10]
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) February 25, 2019 [11]