Saffie Roussos funeral: tributes paid to youngest victim of Manchester attack

The funeral of the youngest victim of the Manchester Arena bombing has taken place after it was delayed until her mother was well enough to attend.

Saffie Rose Roussos had been counting down the days until she got to see her hero Ariana Grande in concert, said her headteacher, Chris Upton, in a eulogy at Manchester Cathedral. The eight-year-old had learned all the lyrics and dance moves, and when she took her seat at the arena alongside her mum, Lisa, and big sister Ashlee, she had never looked happier.

“Lisa rarely watched the stage that evening but, instead, her beautiful daughter, who knew every song, sang every word and danced – I mean really danced – and didn’t have a care in the world,” Upton said.

The Roussos family were in a foyer minutes after the concert ended when Salman Abedi detonated the bomb that killed Saffie and left Lisa badly injured. For the past two months Lisa has been recovering at Wythenshawe hospital in south Manchester.

Though a wheelchair had been provided for her on Wednesday, Lisa was determined to walk into the cathedral, helped by Ashlee, 23. A letter by Ashlee to her baby sister was read to hundreds of mourners, saying Saffie was “the greatest gift … You gave love and life a whole different meaning.”

The family had invited members of the public to join them for a celebration of Saffie’s life, which featured video tributes from her schoolfriends at Tarleton community primary in Preston.

Two girls recalled the time Saffie had suggested they draw on makeup with Sharpies before a school disco: “I had red, you had blue and Saffie had green. It was really good because my mum went ballistic.”

A boy in a red polo shirt complimented Saffie on her talent with a pogo stick. “She could do 25 jumps and I could only do 10.”

A video clip showed Saffie and a friend deep in concentration as they attempted to learn the lyrics to Ed Sheeran’s Galway Girl. Another montage, now posted on YouTube, showed the little girl shopping and smiling with her family.

Saffie’s dad, Andrew, said his daughter “is, was, a superstar in the making”. He said he had a promise to Saffie: to make her the most famous girl in the world. “That’s all I want because that was Saffie’s dream and she would have gone and got it by herself and just by love and support and I want her, when you Google ‘the most famous girl in the world’, to be Saffie Rose Roussos.”

Mourners carried roses in reference to Saffie’s middle name. Paramedics who treated victims of the bombing were in attendance along with the Greater Manchester police chief, Ian Hopkins, and the mayor, Andy Burnham.

Outside the cathedral, dozens listened to the service broadcast over a loudspeaker, including many young girls who didn’t know Saffie but had also been at the concert.

Lisa Cooper had been there with her 14-year-old, Mia. “I feel guilty for being here, still,” she said. “For surviving.” She had recently got her first tattoo: a Manchester bee buzzing around a pair of bunny ears, Ariana Grande’s trademark, and 22 musical notes to represent the victims.

In his euology, Upton said Saffie had a “quiet confidence”, was a friend to everybody and was “clearly destined for great things”. She was the star of her parents’ chip shop in Leyland, Lancashire, and would entertain her dad by dancing in the back room, knowing she would be caught on CCTV.

Upton said: “As you leave the cathedral today, try and be a little bit more like Saffie: ambitious, good-humoured, loving and passionate. The world will truly be a better place.”