The petition has since garnered thousands of signatures

THOUSANDS of people have called for Ariana Grande to be honoured by Manchester after the pop star returned to the city in a show of love and defiance.

The singerraised millions of pounds through her charity gigon Sunday night, paying tribute to the 22 victims killed outside her concert barely two weeks ago.

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The City of Manchester has since banded together to recognise the young singers heartfelt response to the terror attack, with a petition springing up, calling for Ariana to be granted a Freedom of the City.

The petition read: Ariana Grande has inspired people up and down the country with her selfless acts of kindness.

She didnt need to return to Manchester (after all she was a victim herself) but tonight she did and brought the nation to tears and for that I feel she should be granted Freedom of the City of Manchester.

Dave Hogan

More than 11,000 people have since signed the petition, which will be delivered to the council and Mayor of the city, Andy Burnham.

One supporter wrote: "Arianna is a inspiration in how we should act against the terrorists.

"We stand up and show love and smile every day! She is only 23 years old and to do what she has done for Manchester, She deserves this honour."

Another wrote: "Ariana put on a show that demonstrated our strength and solidarity."

Joined by fellow stars including Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus,Ariana told the crowd of 50,000 fans to not be cowed by the terror attack, and instead to choose love.

A Manchester City Council spokesman said: "We are grateful to Ariana Grande for her tremendous support for the city in the aftermath of the Manchester Arena attack.

"There are thousands of people who have made a significant contribution in the past two weeks, including our emergency services and hospital staff, and the city will want to find a suitable way of recognising them all in due course."

Ariana has even embraced the symbol of Manchester - a worker bee - by having the motif tattooed on her body after her concert.

She took time out to visit her fans in hospital who had been injured in the terror attack outside the Manchester Arena during her time in the UK.

All proceeds from the concert will go towards the victims and their families.

During Sunday night's One Love concert in Manchester, Ariana - who organised the fundraising event - paid an emotional tribute to those who had lost their lives.

BBC

Ariana said: I want to thank you all for being here today. Thank you for being here and being so loving and strong.

I love you guys so much the kind of love and unity you are showing is the medicine the world needs right now. I want to thank you for coming. I love you so much.

We have launched our Together With Manchester appeal to raise money for families of the victims of the Arena bomb. News UK, publisher of The Sun, has made a corporate donation of 100,000 to the appeal.

Here's how you can show your support....

ONLINE: http://www.justgiving.com/TogetherWithManchester

TEXT: Text TWMC50 and amount to 70070 eg TWMC50 5 (you can donate 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10)

Read more from the original source:

Thousands call for Ariana Grande to be given Freedom of Manchester after One Love concert for bombing victims ... - The Sun