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It’s been four years since Ariana Grande hosted the One Love concert
But what happened to the funds raised from the benefit gig?
Today marks four years since Ariana Grande hosted the One Love Manchester concert in the wake of the devastating Manchester Arena bombing.
Just weeks after a suicide bomber launched an attack in the foyer of the arena following her performance on May 22nd, 2017, the pop star returned to the city to host the One Love Manchester benefit concert in a bid to raise money for the survivors and families affected by the atrocity.
The benefit gig, held at Manchester’s Old Trafford cricket ground, saw some of the biggest names in music assemble alongside the then twenty-three-year-old singer to put on a show in memory of the twenty-two people who had lost their lives in the attack.
@thistravelpassport / Instagram
Miley Cyrus, Little Mix, Robbie Williams, Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Liam Gallagher were among the artists to join Ariana during the the three hour-long concert, which was attended by a 55,000 strong audience.
Yet, despite the event taking place during one of Manchester’s darkest moments, the concert was undeniably a joyous occasion – a true testament to the city’s resilience and sense of community.
There were many memorable moments from the evening – as the concert went underway, a police officer was filmed on BBC News dancing with a group of children towards the back of the crowd. PC Paul Taylor was seen linking arms with a group of fans and dancing in a circle during Justin Bieber’s performance.
“I had posed for a picture with these two young girls who were with their mum, and they asked if I’d like to dance,” he explained. “I can’t remember what was playing at the time, I think it may have been Justin Bieber. Since the clip went viral my phone hasn’t stopped ringing!”
A choir from Parrs Wood High School in Didsbury became another memorable feature of the event, with two of the choir members actually being survivors from the attack. The school students joined Ariana for an emotional performance of her song ‘My Everything,’ leaving the singer and the rest of the audience in tears.
At one point, one of the choir girls became visibly upset, leading Ariana to embrace her as she continued with the rendition.
Shortly after the event took place, it was revealed that a staggering £18 million had been raised for the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund, a charity established by the Manchester City Council and the British Red Cross, from both the ticket sales and donations from members of the public watching at home.
Ariana also donated all proceeds to the fund from a re-release of her single ‘One Last Time’ and a live audio version of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ that she performed during the concert.
In a statement, We Love Manchester’s Councillor Sue Murphy said, as per NME: “Thanks to this we have raised more than £18m and we were conscious that we had to get some of swiftly this to those with immediate needs.”
But where exactly did this money go?
Well, Sue explained that following the concert, ‘around a third of the total’ was given to the bereaved families – that’s around £250,000 per family. Meanwhile, £3.5m was given to those who were hospitalised after the attack.
The British Red Cross also reported that it had received more than £10 million in donations in the twelve hours following the concert.
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Heroic school boy clears 18 tonnes of rubbish which had been fly-tipped along country road
Daniel Lewis is on a mission to clean up his home town
A school boy has set the example of all examples after he got to work single-handedly shifting eighteen tonnes of rubbish that had been fly-tipped along a country road.
Sixteen-year-old Daniel Lewis has earned the nickname ‘SuperDan’ by locals after he set out on a mission to clean up the streets around Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales.
As a part of his selfless commitment, Daniel has organised litter picks and a community skip scheme to provide free skips to villages around his home town.
@Daniel Sam Volunteer / Facebook
And, in the last year alone, Daniel has removed over eighteen tonnes of rubbish and litter, most of which had been fly tipped onto country roads. The waste included old furniture, children’s toys and clothes and 130 used tyres.
And, upon hearing of Daniel’s mission, local businesses such as the Bryn Group of Gelligaer, started donating their services to help him dispose of the rubbish for free.
Writing on Facebook, Bryn Group said: “We were only too happy to be able to help Daniel with his quest. 18 tonnes of fly tipped waste is hard to comprehend and yet it was up there. Thanks to him it’s no longer blighting our landscape.”
@Daniel Sam Volunteer / Facebook
And Daniel, who is also an avid nature and wildlife photographer, uses his social media accounts to post reminders about the importance of preserving natural land.
He wrote: “Remember, it is not someone else’s duty to pay to dispose of your waste that you are responsible for.
“Out of respect to Volunteers like myself, companies who have provided the skips and services like Step Up Skip Hire and the beautiful countryside and farmers land, please think twice about fly-tipping and morally remember- YOU purchased the items to begin with, therefore it is YOUR responsibility to dispose of the waste correctly.”
We all need to be a bit more Daniel.
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Kind-hearted Mancunians thanked after charity receives huge donations for Afghan refugees
£40,000 has also been raised for those fleeing Afghanistan
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Americans are baffled at how far people actually walk in the UK
Another day, another American perplexed by British culture…
Here in the UK we love a good jaunt, whether it be in the countryside, around our local park, or on our way to work.
However, it turns out that our love for walking isn’t a global thing because, according to one American this week, our passion for getting out and about on foot is completely bewildering to those on the other side of the pond.
Taking to Reddit, the American user expressed their disbelief after finding out that a ‘thirty minute walk’ is considered a ‘short walk home.’
Brett Jordan / Unsplash
They wrote: “I was listening to an ITV true crime podcast yesterday, and the person said ‘it was a short walk home, about thirty minutes.’ Is that really considered to be a short walk home?
“I can’t fathom walking that far in the US and considering it anything I’d do just to get home. Do people walk that much in the UK?”
They clarified in the comments that they were being serious, explaining that ‘most of the US just isn’t set up for walking.’
“No sidewalks, crazy drivers, plus just distance. Americans don’t walk. Also, where I am in Indiana, there is no mass transit. Indianapolis has it, but it’s scarce and quite unreliable. We drive everywhere. As in, everywhere.”
@areksan / Unsplash
Of course, the post was quickly inundated by amused British users who all couldn’t quite wrap their heads around a world of no regular walking.
One person wrote: “Thirty minutes is only a mile and a half, you’re joking aren’t you? I take my dog longer walks.”
Another noted: “I can’t speak for all people, but I would hate to meet the person to whom a 30-min walk is considered some sort of unusually length trek of incredible proportions. For any normal healthy person it’s about 1.5miles.”
The NHS website states that a brisk ten minute daily walk carries an array of health benefits and counts towards your recommended 150 minutes of weekly exercise.
Heroic school boy clears 18 tonnes of rubbish which had been fly-tipped along country road
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Americans are baffled at how far people actually walk in the UK
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