Ariana Grande sent a message to the people of Manchester, England, on Wednesday (May 20) in advance of this weekend’s third anniversary of the devastating bombing at Manchester Arena. The attack on May 22, 2017, during a Grande concert killed 22 people and injured nearly 1,000 when a bomber detonated a homemade device as fans were streaming out of the show.
“I want to take a moment to acknowledge and send my love to everyone that is feeling the sadness and tremendous heaviness of the anniversary coming up this week,” Grande wrote in an Instagram story. “Not a day goes by that this doesn’t affect u and all of us still. I will be thinking of you all week and weekend.”
The singer signed off with “my heart, thoughts, prayers are with u always,” adding a black heart and a bee, with the latter serving as a symbol of Manchester, which became a symbol of hope after the attack. Grande returned to the venue for the first time since the incident last summer when she headlined the city’s pride festival. The year before she headlined the all-star One Love Manchester benefit concert.
