Manchester mourns: the city grieves but the show must go on

As people continued to pay their respects to the victims of the Arena terrorist attack, Manchester was getting back to normal yesterday.

Just a few hundred yards away from the sea of flowers in St Ann’s Square, world class athletes were taking part in the Great City Games, the first major sporting event to take place in the city since Monday’s terror attack.

And tomorrow will see up to 30,000 elite athletes, charity runners and celebrities taking part in the Simplyhealth Great Manchester Run.

First Street bar The Liquor Store held a BBQ and raised just under £700 for We Love MCR Emergency Fund. Big thank you to J & L Wood & Son for the generous donation of supplying all the meat.

The Spring bank holiday means there’s a packed programme of events this weekend and the weather is unusually warm. For many people, the question is: should the events have been cancelled as a mark of respect or must normal service be resumed as soon as possible as a sign of our defiance and resilience?

The Xinhua Chinese Association has decided to cancel the 2017 UK Chinese Dragon Boat Festival at Media City.

A spokesman said: “People in the UK are in deep grieving for the loss of 22 lives and the 59 people injured. According to Chinese culture, we would not be holding any major events in such situations. The XCA would not wish to divert the police attention at this time. The XCA condemns this terrorist attack, and our members stand firm with the general public for solidarity at this difficult time.”

However, it seems that most events are going ahead.

We respond to grief in different ways. For some, the mourning continues. For others, the show must go on.

Manchester rocks. It’s as hard and big hearted as fuck and nobody will break it’s spirit.

— Irvine Welsh (@IrvineWelsh) May 22, 2017

But for the families and friends of the victims of the terrorist attack, life will never get back to normal.

That’s why we will never forget May 22nd 2017.

https://ilovemanchester.com/2017/05/24/12-things-to-do-in-manchester-over-spring-bank-holiday-weekend-2017.aspx