Families of Ariana Grande Concert Attack Victims to Receive $324,000 (original) (raw)

Pop star helped raise money for We Love Manchester Emergency Fund through benefit concert, song sales

The families of the 22 people killed in the May attack outside an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England will receive $324,000 each from the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund, Billboard reports.

The fund was established in the aftermath of the attack and has raised more than $23 million both through public donations and from the proceeds of Grande’s One Love Manchester benefit concert. Grande hosted the all-star show in June, just weeks after the May 22nd attack. The concert featured performances from the pop star, as well as Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Coldplay, Pharrell and more.

In a statement, We Love Manchester said, “The payments will ensure the families benefit from the phenomenal outpouring of public support following the attack.” The fund’s chair of trustees, Sue Murphy, added, “The city and the world responded with such extreme kindness, generosity and solidarity in the aftermath of the Manchester Arena attack.”

Per We Love Manchester, the families of the victims have already been able to claim about $90,000, as well as access to free counseling. Murphy added that We Love Manchester is now looking into ways to properly distribute the rest of the funds. “This will be a complex and sensitive process as we will need to assess the long-term impacts of the attack,” she said. “We will issue an update as soon as we know more.”

Along with donating the proceeds from the One Love Manchester concert, Grande raised additional money for the bombing victims through a re-release of her 2015 single, “One Last Time.” The pop star also donated all the proceeds from her live cover of The Wizard of Oz classic, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” which she performed at One Love Manchester.

In June, Grande was named the first honorary citizen of Manchester following her “great many selfless acts and demonstrations of community spirit” in the aftermath of the attack.