Ariana Grande Made Honorary Citizen of Manchester

Ariana Grande has received a very special accolade from the city of Manchester.

Just yesterday, the English city made Ariana Grande its first honorary citizen.

The Manchester City Council decided to grace Ariana with this special privilege to acknowledge her contribution following the devastating terror attack at her concert at the Manchester Arena on 22 May.

Ariana organised a benefit concert in the city, named ‘One Love Manchester’, two weeks after the incident, which showcased performances by Justin Bieber, Coldplay, Katy Perry, Liam Gallagher, The Black Eyed Peas and many more.

All proceeds of the event went to the survivors of the attack and the families of the victims.

Manchester City council leader, Richard Leese, told council members that making Ariana an honorary citizen would be the perfect way to ‘recognise her noteworthy contribution’ to the city.

“It would have been understandable if she had never wanted to see this place again. But she determined she would not perform again until she had returned to Manchester. In doing so, she brought comfort to thousands, [and] she raised millions for the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund [sic]” Leese said.

Congratulations, Ariana.

Image credit: Ariana Grande One Love Manchester (2017) [online image] sourced on 13 July 2017 at http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7824706/ariana-grande-fan-manchester-arena-attack-response-interview