Ariana Grande has given back to Manchester ever since a suicide bomber tragically killed 22 people at her May 2017 concert
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Ariana Grande served as a real-life Santa to sick children across Manchester, England this Christmas.
The “Positions” singer, 29, donated gifts to kids being treated at the city’s hospitals and drew huge thanks from healthcare workers.
“Thank you Ariana,” the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital posted on Twitter Monday alongside photos of Santa and candy cane-themed wrapped gifts. “We were so excited to receive Christmas gifts for young patients across our hospitals from Ariana Grande.”
Along with RMCH, the gifts “were distributed to babies, children and teenagers” at Trafford Hospitals, Wythenshawe Hospital and North Manchester General Hospital, the facility added.
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Grande is tragically tied to Manchester and its hospitals as a result of the May 22, 2017 suicide bombing at her concert, which killed 22 people and injured more than 500.
The Grammy winner has continued to honor the city ever since. In 2021, she honored the memory of the tragedy by sharing a note with all of the victims’ names.
“Although grief is ever-present and our relationship to it is constantly evolving and expressing itself in different ways every day, year round…. I know that this anniversary will never be an easy one. Please know that I am thinking of you today,” she wrote.
Grande also shared a heartfelt note ahead of the tragedy’s three-year anniversary in May 2020.
“I want to take a moment to acknowledge and send my love to everyone that is feeling the sadness and tremendous heaviness of the anniversary coming up this week,” Grande shared on her Instagram Stories.
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Ariana Grande’s Instagram tribute ahead of the 3rd anniversary of the Manchester bombing. ARIANA GRANDE/INSTAGRAM
“Not a day goes by that this doesn’t affect you and all of us still. I will be thinking of you all week and weekend,” she continued. “My heart, thoughts, prayers are with you always.”
Her post was signed with a black heart emoji and a bee emoji — the latter a familiar emblem of Manchester, adopted by locals as a symbol of resilience and hope.
Months after the 2017 terror attack, Grande explained to fans that the life-changing tragedy taught her resilience and not to take life for granted.
Ariana Grande Returning to Manchester 2 Years After Terrorist Attack to Headline Pride Festival
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KEVIN MAZUR/ONE LOVE MANCHESTER/GETTY IMAGES
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“The spirit of the people of Manchester, the families affected by this horrendous tragedy, and my fans around the world have permanently impacted all of us for the rest of our lives,” she said. “Their love, strength, and unity showed me, my team, my dancers, band, and entire crew not to be defeated. To continue during the scariest and saddest of times. To not let hate win. But instead, love as loudly as possible, and to appreciate every moment.”
“The people of Manchester were able to change an event that portrayed the worst of humanity into one that portrayed the most beautiful of humanity. ‘Like a handprint on my heart’… I think of Manchester constantly and will carry this with me every day for the rest of my life,” Grande added.
