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Take That cancels Manchester gigs after terrorist attack, band members express condolences

The band were set to perform at the arena on May 26 and 27

Boy band Take That have reportedly cancelled their gigs on Friday and Saturday after the Manchester terrorist attack.

The group were due to perform in Manchester, but it is thought that the MEN arena will be closed for the foreseeable future, according to The Express.

Birmingham! #WonderlandLive has arrived in town for opening night…

A post shared by Take That (@takethat) on

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The explosion happened as Ariana Grande’s concert had just finished, and people were leaving to head home. 22 people were killed, with some as young as eight, and so far 119 have been reported injured.

Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald have all shared their support for the victims.

Gary, 46, wrote: “Sad, sad news from Manchester. Praying for all the victims and families involved”.

He has also been tweeting his support by replying to his fans telling them to stay strong.

Mark wrote: “So sad to hear the news from Manchester…. Prayers and thoughts go out to everyone involved.. Heartbreaking!!!! Love to you all M.O X”

Howard tweeted last night: “I’m really hoping the casualties are not as many as it’s displaying all over the news. Sending out love and strength to all #Manchesterarena”.

He then sent out another message in the morning, and said: “Waking up to the realisation that so many innocent people are dead! So sad and heartbroken for all involved. Manchester I love you”.

The band played in Liverpool last night, but have now cancelled a second show that was due to go ahead tonight.

They issued a statement to say that they were postponing their Liverpool gig “out of respect”.

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Mayor of Liverpool Steve Rotherham said: “We will be chairing our own Cobra-style security meeting this afternoon, which will include all the agencies including the police, councils and others.

“We will decide whether we need to raise the security levels in the city and we will also decide whether the planned Take That concert in Liverpool tonight will go ahead or not.”


Nancy Brown
Associate Editor