Manchester Arena; six years on, how Oasis and Ariana Grande brought a city in mourning together in strength

It’s the sixth anniversary of the Manchester Arena bombings today; a moment in the city’s history that for as much as it was fraught with anguish and horror, was equally balanced out by the overwhelming strength the city showed in the face of such tragedy and the entire world coming together to show their love and support to the citizens of the area.

It would also bring together a wide range of influential members of society and the entertainment community, many of which still coming to terms with the bombing, which took place at an innocuous Ariana Grande concert at the venue, and still reeling from earlier attacks that took place at France’s Bataclan nightclub in 2015.

The Prince of Wales, a trustee for the National Emergencies Trust, marked the six anniversary of the attack on Sunday, commenting that “we must listen to their [the survivors] stories now, in order to learn for the future. I look forward to seeing the change that it creates.” Both the Prince and Princess of Wales were at the opening of the memorial, The Glade of Light, in 2022.

Ariana Grande has also shown that Manchester is still very much close to her heart; the singer, currently filming the much-anticipated Wicked adaptation, took to her Instagram account overnight and posted a story that simply read “I love you” with a bee emoji. 

The worker bee has been a proud part of the Mancunian identity since the 1800s and became symbolic of the strength the city had in the face of such adversity after the Manchester Arena bombing that it has become the “de facto” representation of solidarity both in, and towards the city. 

As has the famous Oasis song, “Don’t Look Back In Anger,” which as anthemic as it was originally during the rise of Cool Britannia has become very much a credo for the city of Manchester from one of their most famous natives. Lydia Bernsmeier-Rullow, the daughter of Manchester radio DJ Mike Shaft, succinctly described how the Oasis song became a rally cry of strength for the city in a 2017 interview with The Guardian; “Don’t Look Back in Anger – that’s what this is about: we can’t be looking backwards to what happened, we have to look forwards to the future.”

Is there a memorial service for the Manchester Arena bombing today?

Two one-minute silences will take place at Manchester Victoria railway station during the day – at 12 noon and 22.31pm, the exact anniversary of the attack. Candles will also be made available for people to light.

The names of those who lost their lives will also be read out on the day during services at Manchester Cathedral opposite the memorial at 9am (Morning Prayers), 1.10pm (Holy Communion) and 5.30pm (Choral Evensong.)

The cathedral will be open throughout the day for those who wish to light a candle or pray.