Taylor Swift Pays Tribute To Victims Of 2017 Manchester Bombing

Taylor Swift opens the next leg of her Reputation tour with a heartful tribute to the victims of last year's Manchester bombing.

On Friday, June 8, at the Etihad Stadium, the singer-songwriter delivered the empowering message praising the city's "incredible resilience" in front of thousands of fans.

Taylor Swift Praises Manchester

"Concerts are supposed to be about innocence, and about joy, and about excitement. And what happened just over a year ago in this city was an attempt to steal that innocence," she addressed the cheering crowd. "Ever since then, you have shown such strength. You've shown that you're never going to let anyone forget about those victims."

A fan present at the event was able to capture the emotional moment on video and posted it on Twitter.

Swift then performed a stripped-down version of the song "Dancing With Our Hands Tied" from her album Reputation.

This is not the first time that the 28-year-old briefly paused her concert to deliver an important message to fans. Last week, she also helped kick off Pride Month with a heartfelt speech about the courage to be true to one's self and live as they feel they should identify.

The "Delicate" singer was also joined by her supporting acts, Charli XCX and Camila Cabello, at the concert venue. A second show at the Etihad Stadium is scheduled on Saturday, June 9.

One Year After Manchester Bombing

The Grammy-winning singer's message of resilience comes a few weeks after Manchester commemorated the first anniversary of last year's bombing. A little over a year ago, an attacker infiltrated the Manchester Stadium where popstar Ariana Grande just finished performing in a concert. He detonated a home-made explosive, killing 22 people — most of whom are young fans — and injuring over a hundred more.

Grande, on her social media channels, sent a message to all the survivors of the tragic event.

"[T]hinking of you all today and every day," she tweeted. "I love you with all of me and am sending you all the light and warmth I have to offer on this challenging day."

She also attached an emoji of the working bee, the symbol of Manchester.

In a recent interview, the 24-year-old admitted that she continues to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD because of the experience.

"It's hard to talk about because so many people have suffered such severe, tremendous loss. But, yeah, it's a real thing," she shared to British Vogue. "I know those families and my fans, and everyone there experienced a tremendous amount of it as well."

Tags

Taylor Swift, Reputation, Ariana Grande