Features
Manchester Arena: We Are Love
A picture of
– Manchester Arena Foyer
“Renovation work is still underway in the City Room but it is sufficiently complete to re-open part of the space as a route to the arena,” the arena informs visitors on its website.
City Room is the name of the area where a terrorist identified as British-born Libyan Salman Abedi detonated a bomb on May 22, killing 22 and injuring many more. The picture of the new foyer was taken by the Tim Parry Jonathan Ball Foundation For Peace, which invited families of the victims of the attack to see the new space prior to it reopening on Sept. 9.
The charity was founded in 1993 for the victims of terrorism, after a bomb detonated by the IRA killed 3-year-old Johnathan Ball and 12-year-old Tim Parry. Its chief executive Nick Taylor said in a statement that “there has been huge interest in this private advance visit which has been strongly police regulated and supported by event security, the Peace Foundation and Victim Support.
“Visiting the City Room is clearly a sensitive issue and is not appropriate for all families or survivors, however it is important that we were able to facilitate this time for people to see the space and ask any questions before it reopens. Many other people have also been affected by the attack and by releasing this accompanying image we also hope that this will help to prepare future concertgoers for their return to the Arena.”
Tight venue security will be in place for the benefit concert. There’s a ban in place for bags larger than 35cm x 40cm x 19cm, and there won’t be any storage room for bags available on site. The City Room will be one of two entrances to the arena besides Hunts Banks outside Victoria Station. Concertgoers are urged to arrive early as “further enhanced security checks have been put in place to provide reassurance and confidence.”