05/06/2017: More than £2 million was raised in donations during the One Love Manchester concert as the music world came together in a show of unity following the Ariana Grande concert attack a fortnight ago.

Stars such as Coldplay, Liam Gallagher, Take That, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber were among the huge names united onstage for the event at the Old Trafford cricket ground.

Grande and her management team, along with promoter Live Nation, were among those who pulled the event together in the space of just a few days. The event was staged in response to the suicide bomb attack following the US singer’s concert at Manchester Arena on May which killed 22 people, many of them children and teenagers, and left dozens injured. It was given further resonance as a result of the terrorist attack at London Bridge on Saturday which killed seven people.

UK Music CEO Michael Dugher was a guest of Live Nation chief operating officer Paul Latham at the event, along with shadow Secretary of State for DCMS Tom Watson, Lord Watts, Parliamentary candidates Nigel Adams, Lucy Powell and Conor McGinn.

Grande fans who had attended the Arena gig were offered free passes to last night’s benefit concert which was opened by Marcus Mumford following a one-minute silence.

Standout moments included Miley Cyrus and Grande performing the Crowded House hit Don’t Dream It’s Over along with another Grande duet – this time with Coldplay’s Chris Martin – on the Oasis track Don’t Look Back In Anger, which has been adopted as an unofficial show of strength in Manchester in the wake of the attack.

Other performers in the three-hour show included Black Eyed Peas, Pharrell Williams, One Direction star Niall Horan, Little Mix and Imogen Heap. Many of the acts spoke about the need to show defiance and unity, with Perry declaring “we will not be silenced, Manchester”, while former Oasis frontman Gallagher introduced his band’s hit Live Forever by dedicating it “to the beautiful people who were killed and injured in the Manchester terror attack”.

Michael Dugher said: “It was humbling to be among the thousands of people who were directly affected by the terrible attack. This was an act of defiance in the face of terrorism and a gesture of solidarity with all those affected. This Show was testament to the great things which music can achieve – its healing powers, its fundraising abilities and its ability to bring people together. I would like to thank Live Nation for making it possible.”

With the £2 million raised in donations and text-pledges, more than £10 million has now been raised for the British Red Cross’s We Love Manchester Emergency Fund.