Ariana Grande becomes an honorary citizen of Manchester

Ariana is the first honorary citizen of the city

Ariana Grande

Published 12th Jul 2017
Last updated 12th Jul 2017

Councillors in Manchester have voted unanimously to make Ariana Grande an honorary citizen of the city following the terror attack which killed 22 people on 22nd May.

Family members of some of the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing were at the Town Hall for the meeting on Wednesday morning.

At the meeting the 24-year-old singer was described by Council leader Sir Richard Leese as "a young American woman for whom it would have been understandable if she never wanted to see this place again".

He continued she "brought comfort to thousands and raised millions for the We Love Manchester emergency fund'' when she returned to the city to perform in June after organising the One Love Manchester benefit concert.

Our sister station Key 103, which is based in Manchester, was at the meeting and tweeted a video of the Halle string quartet playing 'Don't Look Back In Anger', which became the unofficial anthem for Manchester after the bombing.

There are currently no plans to have a ceremony to award Ariana in person, however Councillor Sue Murphy said planning for a permanent memorial to the victims in the city would begin in September.

22 people were killed on the 22nd May including seven children and they were remembered with minute's silence before the meeting started.

Last month there were calls for Ariana to be given the Freedom of Manchester and an online petition was created which quickly gathered ground and has nearly 20,000 names.

Just less than two weeks after the devastating bomb in the centre of Manchester, Ariana returned with a star-studded line-up to host the One Love Manchester concert. Little Mix, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Black Eyed Peas were just a few of the big names who performed on the night.

As a tribute Key 103 produced the video below.

#WeStandTogether

Below is a gallery from the One Love Manchester benefit concert:

One Love Manchester

Ariana Grande becomes an honorary citizen of Manchester

2 of 52

Miley Cyrus

2016: 'Dangerous Woman'

Ariana also embarked on her biggest tour to date - the 'Dangerous Woman Tour' supporting her third album 'Dangerous Woman'. Devastatingly, her show at Manchester Arena on 22nd May 2017 ended with a horrific tragedy when a bomb killed 22 people and injured many others.

Following the terrible events of that night, messages of support for those affected poured in from around the world, including many from pop stars and celebrities.

Ariana, along with her team, worked quickly to put on a show that would bring everyone together at such a difficult time. Less than two weeks after the attack, the One Love Manchester benefit concert took place, with a line-up that included Katy Perry, Little Mix, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber and many more artists - as well as Ariana herself.

2016: 'Dangerous Woman'

Find out about Ariana's rise to fame >>