Los Angeles - US pop star Ariana Grande
said on Friday that she will hold a benefit concert in
Manchester for the victims of Monday's suicide bombing at her
show in the English city.
Grande, 23, said in a message on her Instagram account that
a date for the concert had not yet been worked out.
Monday's suicide bombing, which killed 22 people and injured
more than 100, many of them young people, took place just after
Grande had finished performing a concert in the northern English
city. She later canceled several future concerts scheduled in
London and Europe.
"I'll be returning to the incredibly brave city of
Manchester to spend time with my fans and to have a benefit
concert in honor of and to raise money for the victims and their
families. ... I will have details to share with you as soon as
everything is confirmed," Grande wrote in an emotional message.
Grande has a large young female fan base, many of whom were
caught up in Monday's attack by British-born Salman Abedi.
A post shared by Ariana Grande (@arianagrande) on May 26, 2017 at 11:00am PDT
She said that her "Dangerous Woman" concert tour was
intended to be a "space for my fans, a place for them to escape,
to celebrate, to heal, to feel safe and to be themselves."
She said the victims would be "on my mind and in my heart
everyday ... for the rest of my life."
But she added defiantly; "We will not quit or operate in
fear. We won't let this divide us. We won't let hate win."