We Are Manchester Raises Almost $370,000

– Noel Gallagher
The High Flying Birds leader takes flight during the “We Are Manchester” concert in England at the Manchester Arena.

The We Are Manchester concert in honor of the victims of the May 22 attack on Manchester Arena, Sept. 9, has raised £274,085 ($367,500) for the Manchester Memorial Fund.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds headlined the benefit concert, which incidentally marked the reopening of Manchester Arena on Sept.9. The Courteeners, Blossoms, Pixie Lott, Rick Astley, Tony Walsh and more appeared.

The show grossed $501,960, according to Pollstar’s box office data. Deducting costs, $367,500 remained for the Manchester Memorial Fund, which will be used to establish a permanent memorial for those affected by the attack.

Manchester Arena GM James Allen said: “Whilst we will never forget the horrific events of May 22, we will not let them stop us from bringing live music to our city. The September 9 charity concert was a landmark moment in helping the city move forward and I’m now honored to present money raised by the event to the Manchester Memorial Fund.”

Manchester councilor Eddy Newman added: “The concert has raised a significant amount of money for the Memorial Fund and I’d like to thank the generosity of the organizers and the acts but most of all the people who attended.”

More money for the charity is currently being raised from memorabilia auctions, which are still taking place. “The government has also agreed a one-off grant of £64,834 [$86,928], which represents the value of the VAT on the ticket sales,” SMG Europe, the operators of Manchester Arena, who also produced the We Are Manchester concert, said in a statement.

The Manchester Memorial Fund is not to be confused with the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund, a separate fund run in association with the Red Cross to help support those who suffered loss, injury or trauma in the attack.

UK prime minister Theresa May recently pledged to cover allcosts of the attack’s aftermath, after Manchester City Council had pointed out that the UK government’s initial financial aid package had been insufficient.

A recent independent assessment of the UK’s domestic intelligence agency MI5 and police revealed that the attack might have been prevented, had authorities appreciated the available intelligence.  

David Anderson QC, the UK’s former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, who penned the report, came to the conclusion that “it is conceivable that the Manchester attack in particular might have been avertedhad the cards fallen differently.”