Manchester Remembers Arena Victims
Flowers, messages and a minute's silence twelve months on
Last updated 22nd May 2018
The 22 people who lost their lives in the Manchester Arena atrocity have been remembered at an emotional national commemoration service to mark its first anniversary.
Some 800 people attended the hour-long service at Manchester Cathedral including families or friends of the victims and also survivors of the May 22 terror attack.
They were joined by front-line responders and volunteers who helped in the tragic aftermath of the end of last year's Ariana Grande concert.
Among the dignitaries who were present were the Duke of Cambridge, Prime Minister Theresa May, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable, Greater Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Sir Richard Leese, the leader of Manchester City Council.
A one-minute silence - observed nationwide - was held at 2.30pm with tears inside the cathedral and outside, where thousands watched on a big screen in nearby Cathedral Gardens. There was applause as hundreds gathered in St Ann's Square where messages were chalked on the pavement and hung from trees of hope.
Photographs of those who died in the bombing were displayed on screens in the cathedral shortly before the silence.
Twenty-two lit candles on the altar represented each one of the victims, which were made using wax from the thousands of candles left in St Ann's Square in their memory last May.
Officiating the service, the Dean of Manchester, the Very Rev Rogers Govender, said: In this service we come together as people of different faiths and none, as we remember with love before God those whose lives were lost, and those whose lives have been changed forever and have to live with the terrible memories of that day 12 months ago.
William gave a bible reading, The Gift Of Love, and readings were also given by George Herbert, a student at Chetham's School of Music, Remsha Asif, a student at Whalley Range High School for Girls, Michelle Milner, deputy director of nursing at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, along with members of the Hindi, Muslim, Sikh and Jewish communities.
Later, more than 3,000 singers from local choirs will join forces and share the spirit of solidarity at the Manchester Together - With One Voice event in the city's Albert Square from 7.30pm-9pm.
Among those performing are the Manchester Survivors Choir, a group made up of people who were at the arena on the night of the fateful concert, and Parrs Wood High School's Harmony Group, whose post-attack tribute went viral last year.
A mass 30-minute communal singalong finale promises to be the highlight of the concert, with songs including Grande's One Last Time, One Day Like This by Elbow, Don't Look Back In Anger by Oasis and Never Forget by Take That.
At 10.31pm, bells will ring out from the city's Town Hall, St Ann's Church and St Mary's RC Church to mark the moment when the attack took place 12 months ago.
A total of 22 people were killed and more than 800 others were either physically or psychologically injured