Yahoo News Remembering the 22 lives lost at Manchester Arena, seven years on
The 22 innocent lives lost at Manchester Arena will be remembered today on the seventh anniversary of the terrorist bombing atrocity. The city will fall silent in honour of those murdered in the attack - and all those left injured and affected.
Manchester Cathedral has issued an open invitation ahead of a special memorial service. The cathedral said all are welcome as the names of those who died will be read aloud during services due to be held at 9am, 1.10pm and 5.30pm.
"There will be quiet space to reflect and light a candle throughout the day," said the venue, which is beside the arena.
At 10.31pm, the exact time the bomb was detonated on May 22, 2017 after an Ariana Grande concert, the cathedral's bells will ring out from its tower 22 times A minute's silence will also be held in the cathedral's nave at noon.
The Lord Mayor of Manchester, councillor Paul Andrews, said: "May 22 is a date which will always carry a powerful significance in this city. Today we remember the 22 people who lost their lives in the terrorist attack and many more who were injured or otherwise affected. We also remember how the city came together to show that love is stronger than hate."
The Greater Manchester Resilience Hub - set up in response to the arena bombing to coordinate care and support - is available for anyone who needs it here.
Manchester Victoria railway station, meanwhile, will also fall silent as station staff and rail users pay tribute to the victims and survivors who continue to be affected by the atrocity.
A minute's silence will be held during a special memorial service at 12pm, which will be led by the railway chaplain, Mike Roberts. A second minute's silence will take place at 10.31pm at the station to mark the moment of the attack.
The tributes come as a planned drone display over the Glade of Light memorial tonight to honour the victims has been cancelled due to the weather.
Craig Harrop, regional director for Northern in the North West, said: "The Manchester Arena attack has had a lasting impact on the station staff and customers at Manchester Victoria.
"As we mark the seventh anniversary of the attack, we remember the 22 victims and all those affected by what happened that night.”
The Glade of Light was unveiled between Manchester Cathedral and Chetham's School of Music in 2022 to act as a focal point for remembrance in the city. At Manchester Victoria, an area near to Soldiers' Gate within the station has become a shrine for reflection and personal tributes.
Bus company Stagecoach said its drivers would be pulling over where safe and possible at 12 noon to observe a two minutes' silence to commemorate the anniversary.
Suicide bomber Salman Abedi, 22, detonated a device in a rucksack as crowds left the concert in the deadliest terrorist attack in the UK since the 7/7 London bombings in 2005. Greater Manchester Police estimate there were 940 victims of the attack who survived. Of those, 337 people were in the City Room blast zone at the time of the explosion and a further 92 people were in the immediate vicinity.
Of the victims, 237 people were physically injured. A total of 111 people required hospital treatment, with 91 categorised as being seriously or very seriously injured.
Wednesday also marks the anniversary of the murder in London in 2013 of Fusilier Lee Rigby, from Middleton.
