This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/may/22/manchester-arena-bombing-live-stream-of-remembrance-service

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Manchester Arena bombing: live stream of remembrance service Manchester gathers to remember victims of arena bombing, one year on
(about 2 hours later)
A service of remembrance for the victims of the Manchester bombing one year ago is under way at the city’s cathedral. Survivors of the Manchester Arena suicide bombing and the families of those who died have attended a remembrance service at the city’s cathedral on the anniversary of the attack.
Those gathered include survivors of the attack along with their families and friends, loved ones of those killed, and first responders. Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and the Duke of Cambridge are also attending. They were joined by Prince William and Theresa May at the service, which took place as a national minute’s silence was observed to remember the 22 victims of the atrocity.
The dean of Manchester, Rogers Govender, welcomed the congregation, saying: “In this service we come together as people of different faiths and none, as we remember with love before God those whose lives were lost, and those whose lives have been changed for ever and have to live with the terrible memories of that day 12 months ago. Dr Rev David Walker, the bishop of Manchester, told the service that the city would never forget those who died on 22 May last year. He also pledged lifelong support for the 800 people who were injured physically or psychologically in the attack.
“There is a land of the living and a land of the dead, and the bridge between them is love: The only survival, the only meaning.” “Part of the horror is that [the arena] appeared to have been deliberately chosen as a venue full of young people,” he said. “Today they are one year into living with those life-changing injuries, with many decades of continuing to do so lying ahead of them.
He then led the congregation in prayer. “A society has rituals to mark a death or console the bereaved, but we lack any any equivalent for those who have lost limbs, suffered sensory loss or will never recover their confidence again. Many of the hopes and aspirations they took with them into the arena that night have gone. Today we mark and acknowledge their suffering and pledge to play our part in their future wellbeing here on earth.”
The lord lieutenant of Manchester, Warren Smith, read from the book of Matthew: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Ariana Grande, who performed at Manchester Arena that night, sent a message to those hurt in the attack. “Thinking of you all today and every day. I love you with all of me and am sending you all of the light and warmth I have to offer on this challenging day,” she tweeted.
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” As well as the prime minister and the duke, who read from I Corinthians 13:4 “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude” the service was attended by first responders and civic leaders. Other national figures included the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, the SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, and Sir Vince Cable, the leader of the Liberal Democrats.
The service was relayed to a big screen outside in Cathedral Gardens, where several thousand people were gathered. Among them was Jean Osborne, 69, who was clutching a laminated photograph of her daughter, Caroline Davis, and their friend Wendy Fawell. All three women had worked together at a school in Guiseley, serving dinners and helping at the after-school club.
Fawell died in the attack; Davis was seriously injured. They had gone to pick up their daughters from the concert and were waiting in the foyer when Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old Mancunian of Libyan heritage, detonated a bomb in his rucksack.
“Wendy was the nicest person you could meet,” said Osborne, who, like many of those present, was wearing a T-shirt bearing Manchester’s symbol, the worker bee. “She was my hairdresser as well as my best friend and she taught me so many recipes I’d never have even thought of trying. Just last night we had her sweet’n’sour chicken.”
They welcomed the bishop’s pledge to remember the injured, saying Davis had been forced to go back to work as a dinner lady in spite of persistent health issues. Shrapnel from the bomb sliced her heel, a blast burn destroyed part of her skin and she had to have one arm reconstructed.
Also in the crowd were many teenagers wearing Ariana Grande T-shirts they bought on the night of the attack. Lorraine Ness, 19, and her cousin Leigh Tilley, 10, had travelled from Fife in Scotland. “We wanted to pay our respects and get closure after what happened here that night,” said Lorraine, who has been receiving counselling for the psychological trauma she suffered.
Thousands of messages of support on cardboard tags have been attached by members of the public to 28 Japanese maple trees, which form the “Trees of Hope” trail from the square to Victoria railway and tram station.
More than 7,000 hand-stitched hearts were dotted around the city centre, with people encouraged to smile as they passed them for a social media campaign, #aheart4mcr. The minute’s silence was also marked at government buildings, and at the Grenfell Tower fire inquiry in central London.
Inside the cathedral, 22 candles – made using wax from the thousands of candles left in St Ann’s Square a year ago – were lit.
Photographs of the 22 victims chosen by their families were shown on the screen: 28-year-old John Atkinson, a support worker for people with autism, was sticking his tongue out at the camera; Polish couple Angelika and Marcin Klis, 39 and 42, were photographed around the corner in Exchange Square, hours before they went to pick up their daughters from the concert. Teenage sweethearts Liam Curry, 19, and Chloe Rutherford, 17, were shown together by the Tyne Bridge near their native South Shields.
On Tuesday night, 10,000 people were expected to gather in Albert Square for a mass singalong of songs by Ariana Grande, Oasis, Take That and Elbow.
Manchester Arena attackManchester Arena attack
ManchesterManchester
Greater ManchesterGreater Manchester
newsnews
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share via Email
Share on LinkedIn
Share on Pinterest
Share on Google+
Share on WhatsApp
Share on Messenger
Reuse this content