Ariana Grande dedicated an emotional performance to a 15-year-old murdered at her Manchester Arena concert as she told fans, ‘her mother told me Olivia wouldn’t want me to cry and would’ve wanted to hear the hits.’

The star paid tribute to her fans, including Olivia Campbell, 15, at her One Love concert at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground on Sunday evening as concert goers proudly wore clothes emblazoned with the slogan, ‘We stand together’.

Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Coldplay, Pharrell Williams, the Black Eyed Peas, Miley Cyrus, Liam Gallagher, Robbie Williams, Little Mix and Niall Horan also performed for free to raise £2m toward the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund.

The 50,000-strong crowd held a minute’s silence in memory of those who have lost their lives in the last fortnight before the evening culminated with the stellar line-up on stage, singing a stirring rendition of Grande’s hit One Last Time – before the 23-year-old broke down in tears as she sung Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

Ariana dedicated her song ‘Side to Side’ to 15-year-old Olivia Campbell-Hardy (right), who was murdered at the Manchester Arena

Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus teamed to perform a stirring version of Crowded House’s ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’

Katy Perry urged audience members to tell each other they loved one another as she praised their bravery

Justin Bieber broke down in tears as he told people to ‘fight evil with good’ at the One Love Manchester concert

One Direction star Niall Horan performed his hit Slow Hands before dedicating song This Town to Manchester, saying: ‘When I seen you guys all rallying together last week it was a sight to behold, it was incredible. ‘We love you, we’re with you’

Little Mix performed their hit track Wings, dedicating it to fans and urging them to stay strong in the wake of the attacks

Liam Gallagher made a surprise appearance at the concert, coming out on stage dressed in an orange parka to sing Oasis’s 1994 hit Rock ‘n’ Roll Star in front of an I Love MCR backdrop

The American star returned to the stage for the first time on Sunday night after suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated a device, killing 22 of her fans and parents as they left her show at the Manchester Arena on May 22.

And it came after another terror attack in London last night in which seven people were killed and nearly 50 injured after three men drove a van into a crowd on London Bridge and set upon people in a crazed knife rampage.

But the American singer’s manager Scooter Braun said the Manchester gig now had a ‘greater purpose’ than ever after the country’s second terror attack in two weeks.

Ariana Grande said she was inspired to change her set list for the One Love Manchester benefit concert after the mother of one of the teenage victims said her daughter would have wanted to hear the hits.

Grande appeared on stage at the Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground in an an oversized white One Love Manchester sweatshirt and seemed overcome by emotion at points as she was joined by a string of musical stars.

Before launching into her hit Side To Side, Grande told the crowd: ‘I want to thank you so much for coming tonight and being so happy and strong and unified.

‘I love you guys so much. This night is the kind of thing the world really needs right now.’

Grande said she had not planned to play so many of her big hits but changed her mind after meeting the mother of Olivia Campbell-Hardy, 15, who was among the victims of the blast that killed 22 people at at her concert last week.

She said: ‘I had the pleasure of meeting Olivia’s mummy a few days ago and I started to cry and gave her a big hug and she said ‘stop crying, because Olivia wouldn’t have wanted you to cry’.

‘And then she told me Olivia would have wanted to hear the hits. We had a different show planned and we had a rehearsal yesterday and we changed everything.’

The evening culminated with the stellar line-up on stage, singing a stirring rendition of Grande’s recent hit, ‘One Last Time’, before Grande, 23, broke down in tears as she sung ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’

Grande appeared on stage at the Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground in an an oversized white One Love Manchester sweatshirt and seemed overcome by emotion at points as she was joined by a string of musical star

Before launching into her hit Side To Side, Grande told the crowd: ‘I want to thank you so much for coming tonight and being so happy and strong and unified’

Earlier in the night Coldplay joined Grande on stage to sing Oasis’s hit Don’t Look Back In Anger, which has been an anthem for Manchester since the tragedy

She was also joined on stage by her boyfriend Mac Miller as she said: ‘Tonight is all about love, am I right?’

Ariana Grande joined Chris Martin and Coldplay on stage as they sang a moving rendition of Don’t Look Back in Anger

The singer was embraced by Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.I.Am as she battled through tears to carry on singing

Ariana wept as she told the crowd she met the mother of Olivia Campbell-Hardy, who was killed in her concert on May 22

The American star was noticeably emotional as she performed for her adoring fans in at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground

Miley Cyrus Cyrus told the crowd: ‘Manchester I just had to take a second to look around at all of you. I’d like to wrap my arms around each and every one of you and tell you thank you from the bottom of our hearts for having us’

Katy Perry called love ‘our greatest power’ as she urged people to conquer fear in the wake of the Manchester and London Bridge terror attacks.

Speaking on stage before she performed at the One Love Manchester benefit concert, the US pop star said: ‘It’s not easy to always choose love is it, especially in moments like this, right?

‘It can be the most difficult thing to do, but love conquers fear and love conquers hate and this love that you choose will give you strength and it’s our greatest power.’

She thanked Ariana Grande for her ‘incredible courage and strength’ in organising the concert less than two weeks after a bomb killed 22 people and injured dozens of others at the singer’s Manchester Arena show.

Perry said: ‘Thank you for having me, I’m so honoured and humbled to be here tonight to share and spread the love.’

She then urged people to reach out and touch whoever was next to them and say ‘I love you’ before performing Part Of Me and hit track Roar.

Katy Perry thanked Ariana Grande for her ‘incredible courage and strength’ in organising the concert less than two weeks after a bomb killed 22 people and injured dozens of others at the singer’s Manchester Arena show

Howard Donald and Gary Barlow were among the first of the acts to perform at the One Love concert

Old friends Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande hugged after they sang together, having serenaded fans with a number of hits

Liam Gallagher also played his new solo single Wall Of Glass before he was joined on stage by Martin to play Oasis hit Live Forever, saying: ‘I want to dedicate this next song to the beautiful people who were killed and injured in the Manchester terror attack’

Dressed in pink trousers and snake skin cowboy boots, Mark Owen threw himself into Take That’s set

Miley Cyrus gave an impassioned performance on stage with Pharrell Williams as the crowd went wild

There was also a surprise appearance by Mancunian Liam Gallagher, who was joined by Coldplay for a rendition of the Oasis hit Live Forever.

Gallagher dedicated a performance of Live Forever to the people killed and injured in the Manchester Arena terror attack as he surprised fans at the One Love concert.

The singer, who was born in the city, wore a long, orange parka coat on stage where he was joined by Coldplay’s Chris Martin on guitar for the hit Oasis track.

He also performed the band’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Star and his own single, Wall Of Glass before telling the 50,000-strong crowd at the Old Trafford cricket ground that Live Forever was for ‘the beautiful people killed and injured in the Manchester terror attack’.

Earlier this week the former Oasis frontman held a special gig in the city with all proceeds going to the We Love Manchester fund for victims and their families.

Although fans were delighted with the surprise appearance, there was some disappointment Noel Gallagher had not joined his brother for a full Oasis reunion.

Ariana Grande put her arm around her boyfriend Mac Miller as they performed a moving duet together

Little Mix took to the stage after Grande, and Jade Thirlwall said: ‘We are so, so happy to be part of this incredible day, thank you’

Introducing the group’s track Wings, she said: ‘The song we have chosen to do for you guys we wrote together a few years ago in the hope it would empower people to stand together and to not let anything bring them down’

In a video played to the crowd, Stevie Wonder said: ‘I just wanted you to know that I’m with all of you in Manchester. ‘We all know that love is truly the key. Anyone who tries to make anyone think that things of destruction has anything to do with God or Allah, they’re a liar. Yes, I stand with you Manchester’

The two pop singers previously performed the 1986 single as part of Cyrus’ Happy Hippie Project, with Cyrus noting earlier in the concert that their collaboration was a key moment in their friendship

After singing ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’ at the end of her show, the singer broke down in tears

Ariana put her arms around one of the members of the Parrs Wood High School choir, who gave a moving performance

After she sang with the Black Eyed Peas, Ariana told the crowd, ‘Manchester I love you so, so much. Thank you so much’

Grande shouted ‘Manchester we love you’ before Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am said: ‘Manchester, London, we are here together and we are one’

The talented choir from Parrs Wood High School in East Didsbury, Manchester, performed in front of thousands

Mumford and Sons’ Marcus Mumford was the first to take to the stage, asking for a minute’s silence in tribute to those who have lost their lives in the last fortnight

During the show she duetted with Miley Cyrus on Crowded House’s Don’t Dream It’s Over, during which they twirled each other around and embraced

Justin Bieber used his One Love performance to honour the 22 people who died in the Manchester Arena attack The Canadian pop star led the crowd in chants of ‘love, love, love’ as he took to the stage to perform Love Yourself and Cold Water

Mumford and Sons frontman Marcus Mumford sang ‘you are not alone in this’ as he performed an acoustic version of the band’s hit Timshel to open the One Love Manchester benefit concert.

He then welcomed Take That to the stage to open their set with their crowd-pleasing song Let It Shine.

In between renditions of Giants and Rule The World, Gary Barlow told the crowd: ‘Thank you everybody for coming out tonight, thank you for everybody watching at home, thanks to Ariana for inviting us tonight.

‘Our thoughts are with everyone that’s been affected by this. We want to stand strong, look at the sky and sing loud and proud.’

Barlow then introduced his former band mate, Robbie Williams. Williams serenaded the crowd with his song, ‘Strong’, changing the words to, ‘Manchester we’re strong’.

Miley Cyrus, pictured with the Black Eyed Peas, said: ‘I’d like to wrap my arms around each and every one of you. The most important responsibility we have on this planet is to take care of one another’

At the end of the concert, the star broke down in tears as she thanked fans and told them she loved them

Katy Perry appeared on stage in a white mini dress with a long white feathered coat over the top to perform Part Of Me and Roar, saying: ‘We will not be silenced, Manchester’ before Justin Bieber appeared to perform Love Yourself and Cold Water

Millie Mitchell, 14, injured in the Manchester Arena bomb blast, went to the One Love Manchester gig with her father Alasdair

Fans wearing T-shirts bearing a tribute to Martyn Hett, a victim of the May 22 terrorist attack, arrive at at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground

Audience members beamed as they stood together and showed their support, proudly holding aloft banners and signs

Armed police appeared to be in good spirit sas they watched fans begin to arrive ahead of the concert

U2 frontman Bono sent a video message to the concert, telling the crowds: ‘All our hearts are with you, all our hearts are with Manchester and with the UK. So many of our friends are in this great city.

‘We’re broken-hearted for parents who’ve lost their children and children who’ve lost their parents in this senseless, senseless horror. There is no end to grief and that’s how we know there is no end to life.’

Pharrell Williams then opened his performance with a rendition of Get Lucky, his hit with Daft Punk, before Miley Cyrus joined him on stage to perform Williams’ hit Happy.

Before welcoming Cyrus to perform, Williams said: ‘You know why I’m bowing, I’m bowing because despite all the things that have been going on in this place, I don’t feel or hear or see any fear in this building. All we feel here tonight is love, resilience and positivity. ‘

U.S. singer and rapper Pharrell Williams told the crowd: ‘Despite all the things that have been going on in this place, I don’t see or hear or feel any fear in this building. All I feel is love, resilience, positivity’

Ahead of the concert Grande’s fans who were caught up in the Manchester bombing said they were nervous to return to a concert so soon after recent terror attacks but determined to carry on to show solidarity with the victims

Ariana ended her show by singing an emotionally-charged and poignant version of the classic ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’

Robbie Williams and his former Take That bandmates joined hands before he did a solo set

Ariana Grande said she was inspired to change her set list for the One Love Manchester benefit concert after the mother of one of the teenage victims said her daughter would have wanted to hear the hits

The American singer’s manager Scooter Braun said the Manchester gig now had a ‘greater purpose’ than ever after the country’s second terror attack in two weeks

Pharrell Williams and Miley Cyrus treated the crowd to an energetic and upbeat performance, singing the hit ‘Happy’

One audience member wore a football shirt with the number 22 and the word ‘Remember’ printed on it in a show of solidarity

Elicia Jackson, 14, who has received trauma counselling after the bombing, said: ‘Nothing was going to stop me being here. We’ll never let the terrorists beat us. Nothing will break us. We’re here as pop lovers, we’re united.’

The schoolgirl from Bolton-le-Sands, Lancashire, was among thousands of fans from Ariana’s gig who were given free tickets for the fightback show, at which all children under 16 had to be accompanied by an adult.

Elicia was accompanied by her mother Kara Jackson, 45, a teaching assistant, who said: ‘She was lucky to have got out of the Arena without any injury, but she was hysterical afterwards and received counselling at school.’

The concert was a sell-out, but not every seat was filled last night. ‘My friend Lois who I was with was much too scared to come back, she’s traumatised,’ Elicia said.

‘But I’m not afraid, this must be the safest pace to be. But it’s strange seeing armed police everywhere.’

The armed officers were out in force ahead of the concert, but maintained a discreet position outside the stadium as the 50,000 fans arrived throughout the afternoon, and 800 security staff were on duty at the event.

However, police stressed that security hadn’t been further ramped up after the London outrage the night before.

Families of victims of the bombing were given a round of applause by queuing fans as they arrived at the stadium, where an area called the ‘golden circle’ was cordoned off for them near the stage.

Also there were Jade Carty, 17, with her parents Karen, 51, and Stephen, 65, all of whom were at the May 22 gig. ‘I didn’t want to come today but I had to for my daughter,’ said Mrs Carty, from Barnsley.

‘I had tickets to Take That on Tuesday but didn’t go. I didn’t feel ready and I was thinking I’m not going to go to this either, especially after I heard about London. But I’m not going to let them beat me. And if I hadn’t come with them, I would only have sat at home worrying.’

Mr Carty told how as he was leaving the Manchester Arena concert he saw a man with a hole in his head. ‘It’s important that we came here,’ he said. ‘These things are always going to happen, you’ll never stop them.’

He added that he and his family were the lucky ones, but he felt for the victims. Speaking ahead of the show, Ariana’s manager Scooter Braun said the One Love concert had a ‘greater purpose’ following the terror attack in London. ‘We feel a sense of responsibility to honour those lost, injured and affected. We plan to honour them with courage, bravery and defiance in the face of fear,’ he said.

‘Today we stand together.’

There was a heavy police presence around the venue throughout the day – but that failed to deter the hardy crowd

The flag flew at half mast above the Old Trafford Cricket Ground as tens of thousands of fans made their way to the gig

After Ariana duetted with Miley Cyrus on Crowded House’s Don’t Dream It’s Over, the friends hugged one another

The number of stewards around the arena was doubled as organisers said they want to make sure the victims of the Manchester attack were supported

Audience members Victoria Muir, 21, and her friend Lauren Christie, 22, were in the toilets at Manchester Arena when they heard the blast, came back out and witnessed the ‘stampede’ to get out.

‘We saw people crying, and when we saw men were crying we knew something had happened,’ said Victoria, a doctor’s receptionist, from Newcastle.

Lauren, a factory worker, added: ‘We hope coming tonight will help us get over the anxiety and stress. We’ve had problems sleeping and I’ve had some flashbacks.’

Also among the crowd was Adele Waters, 39, a nurse who has tended to child victims of the Arena blast, with her three children. Like many of the other young concert goers yesterday, her daughter Felicity, eight, was wearing a pair of Ariana Grande-style rabbit ears. Her mother said: ‘It was humbling looking after the children in hospital. That’s the beauty of looking after children – they always seem to bounce back.’

Melissa Bell, 13, suffered sleepless nights and bouts of tearfulness in the immediate aftermath of the bombing, with one episode sparked when she handed her mother Alexandra the white jeans which she had worn on the night of the Arena concert to be washed and saw blood spots which had splashed on them on as they fled. Tickets to that concert had been a Christmas present for Melissa.

‘I didn’t want to go tonight, to start with,’ said Ms Bell, 39, from Liverpool. ‘When Melissa heard about this concert and first mentioned it to me I was thinking, ‘No, no, we can’t go, we’ve just been traumatised’. I was scared but I’ve thought very carefully about it. If my 13-year-old daughter has the strength to do it and come here, then so should I. It could be the best counselling, it could eliminate the horrible memories from last time and replace the blood-stained pictures we have in our head with some good and happy ones.’

Ms Bell added: ‘We are trying to fix what was broken, to put the horror story to bed. But I know it’s going to take time.’

The event saw the US popstar return to the stage for the first time since suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated a device, killing 22 of her fans and parents as they left her show at the Manchester Arena

Fans wept as emotional tributes were paid to their fellow Ariana Grande supporters and people who had been injured

Miley Cyrus continued: ‘I’ve always loved Manchester and not just tonight, it’s always felt like a home away from home to me’

These schoolchildren recorded a tear-jerking version of Ariana Grande’s My Everything then performed at the One Love Manchester benefit gig

Grande later appeared with Victoria Monet to sing their duet Better Days and then joined Black Eyed Peas to perform their hit Where Is The Love?

Marcus Mumford sang ‘you are not alone in this’ as he performed an acoustic version of the band’s hit Timshel

In another poignant moment, Robbie Williams joined his former Take That band members on stage

Robbie Williams serenaded the crowd with his song, ‘Strong’, changing the words to, ‘Manchester we’re strong’

As he performed with Take That, Gary Barlow told the crowd: ‘We want to stand strong, look at the sky and sing loud and proud’

After Williams left the stage Cyrus performed her song Inspired, telling the crowd: ‘Manchester I just had to take a second to look around at all of you. I’d like to wrap my arms around each and every one of you and tell you thank you from the bottom of our hearts for having us.

‘I’m so honoured to be at this incredible event surrounded by all you amazing people. The most important responsibility we have on this entire planet is to take care of one another.’

She continued: ‘I’ve always loved Manchester and not just tonight, it’s always felt like a home away from home to me.’

One Direction star Niall Horan performed his hit Slow Hands before dedicating song This Town to Manchester, saying: ‘I just want to say I’ve been lucky enough to travel all over the world and every time I come back to Manchester I’m addicted to this place.

‘When I seen you guys all rallying together last week it was a sight to behold, it was incredible.

‘We love you, we’re with you.’

Justin Bieber used his One Love performance to honour the 22 people who died in the Manchester Arena attack

The Canadian pop star led the 50,000 strong crowd in chants of ‘love, love, love’ as he took to the stage to perform Love Yourself and Cold Water.

He said: ‘What an amazing thing we are doing tonight, would you not agree? Would you agree that love always wins? What a better way to fight evil with evil than fight evil with good.’

‘Would you guys agree with that?’ he added, to cheers from the crowd.

‘It’s an honour for me to be here and maybe I should just play some music, right.’

In between the two songs, he said: ‘I’m not going to let go of hope, I’m not going to let go of love, I’m not going to let go of god.’

Bieber then urged everyone to raise their hands in honour of those killed in the terror attack at Ariana Grande’s gig less than two weeks ago.

He said: ‘I just want to take this moment to honour the people that are lost, that were taken.

‘We love you so much, to the families we love you so much. Put both hands up to honour those people right now, everybody say we honour you, and we love you.’

A tearful Grande held hands with her backing dancers, wearing a jumper with the words ‘One Love Manchester’ as her fans cheered her on

Ariana Grande smiled as members of the Manchester High School Choir speak on stage at her One Love concert

Some 60,000 people have gone to the Old Trafford Cricket Ground to see the stars perform and show their solidarity in the wake of the terror attacks

Members of the Manchester High School Choir beamed as they stood together on stage in a defiant show of solidarity

Ariana took to the stage to perform her hits, just days after her concert at the Manchester Arena in which 22 people died

Stars paid tribute to the fans, saying they were ‘broken hearted for the victims’ – including children who had lost parents, and parents who’d lost children

Source:https://www.dailymail.co.uk