'This is what love sounds like' - thousands come together to mark one year since Manchester's darkest day
Crowds packed into Albert Square for a mass sing-a-long on the anniversary of the Arena attack
Last updated 22nd May 2018
Exactly a year ago, Albert Square in Manchester City Centre was packed with people coming to terms with the devastating terror attack at Manchester Arena.
12 months on, thousands of people gathered in the same square for an event to show solidarity, defiance and love.
'Manchester Together With One Voice' brought more than eighty choirs together to perform for crowds of people - some of them were survivors, or families of the victims while many wanted to pay their respects.
It began with the iconic poem from Tony Walsh, that became a symbol following the vigil in the wake of the attack.
Next, dozens of famous Manchester faces, including Gary Barlow, Johnny Marr, Sally Lindsay and Vincent Kompany all appeared on giant screens to wish the people of Manchester well.
The first choir to perform were the Manchester Young Voices choir, who sang a poignant tune - 'This is Why We Sing'.
When the Manchester Gay and Lesbian chorus took to the stage, the crowds struggled to contain themselves and joined in with Oasis' 'Wonderwall'
One of the biggest cheers of the night came when the work of the emergency services on the night, and in the aftermath, of the attack was praised.
Huge cheers rang out in the crowd and when the Emergency Services choir performed 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' there was deafening applause.
Young survivors of the attack, who formed the Survivors Choir in the wake of the bombing, bravely stood on stage to perform 'Rise Up'.
Each of the young people carried a candle, and many looked visibly upset and moved, and when they raised their candles in the air, the crowds responded with a wall of cheers of support.
Instead of a minute's silence, the poet Tony Walsh came on stage to call for a minute's noise, to drown out terrorism and to remind people that Manchester was not silenced by the events of 2017.
The final half hour of the event brought the whole crowd together, for a mass sing-a-long. People were asked to sing as loudly as possible, joining in with songs including 'One Last Time', 'One Day Like This' and 'Don't Look Back in Anger'.
Leaving the event, many of the people there said singing along to the Oasis classic had been one of their highlights.
Following on from the event, bells at civic buildings across the city rang out at 10.31, to mark the exact moment of the attack 12 months ago.