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Manchester Arena is set to reopen on September 8th with a benefit concert headlined by longtime local Noel Gallagher. As the Manchester Evening News reports, the Oasis singer-songwriter will be joined by a lineup of Blossoms, the Courteneers, and Rick Astley. All proceeds from the show will go to the Memorial Fund, whose mission is to one day establish a memorial to the 22 victims of the Manchester terror attack that took place in May.
Gallagher has been donating royalties of “Don’t Look Back in Anger”, an Oasis classic that’s since become an unofficial anthem in the wake of the attack, to the victims. He also recently performed the song onstage with U2. (Gallagher was noticeably absent, however, from Ariana Grande’s One Love Manchester benefit concert in June, which featured Miley Cyrus, Coldplay, Justin Bieber, and Gallagher’s brother, Liam.)
In related news, families of the victims will soon receive a total of $324,000 from the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund. The fund has raised more than $20 million since the attacks; much of the proceeds came from Grande’s star-studded benefit show as well as from the re-release of her “One Last Time” single.
“The payments will ensure the families benefit from the phenomenal outpouring of public support following the attack,” a press release from We Love Manchester Emergency Fund stated (via Stereogum). Councillor Sue Murphy, the fund’s chair of trustees, added, “The city and the world responded with such extreme kindness, generosity and solidarity in the aftermath of the Manchester Arena attack.”