BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

'Stay strong our kid': Manchester reacts to attack

  • Published
    23 May 2017
Share page
About sharing
Bee image: "Stay strong our kid"Image source, Instagram/dickvincent
BBC Trending
Going in-depth on social media

In response to the suicide bombing at Manchester Arena, Mancunians and people around the world joined in an online show of unity.

Hashtags including "Pray for Manchester", "Stand Together" and "We Stand Together" were used millions of times and climbed up Twitter's list of top UK trends. "Pray for Manchester, external" alone was tweeted more than 1.8 million times by Tuesday afternoon.

Many of the messages included pictures of the scene of the attack and pleas from people looking for loved ones, but there were also messages of solidarity and defiance:

Tweet by Jess Purcell: "We have to stand together against these hateful cowardly people."Image source, Twitter/@Jessica_Simone1
Tweet by Rory Nolan: "Red or Blue, Oasis or the Smiths ... Today it doesn't matter. This is OUR CITY. Today we stand together."Image source, Twitter/@RXNolan

Manchester Police: This was a terrorist attack

Manchester attack: Fake 'missing' images

#RoomForManchester: People offer shelter to those affected by Manchester Arena blast

Manchester, which is the UK's third most popular city for tourism, external, after London and Edinburgh, has been influential in popular culture due to its vibrant music scene and globally famous football clubs. These were close to people's minds as they shared images of the city.

Both Manchester United and their Premier League neighbours Manchester City, external expressed solidarity with those who had been affected by the attack.

Manchester United players take a minute silenceImage source, Twitter/@ManUtd
Instagram quote "This is manchester, we do things differently here". Credited to Anthony H Wilson. Anthony Wilson - or Tony, as he was more commonly known - was the founder of Manchester's famous Hacienda nightclub and Factory RecordsImage source, Instagram/ms_gia_a
Image caption,

Anthony H Wilson - or Tony Wilson, as he was more commonly known - was the founder of Manchester's famous Hacienda nightclub and Factory Records

Among the most viral images were local symbols and artwork - for example, the worker bee that symbolises Manchester's vital role in the industrial revolution.

Bee on mosaic - text saying MancunianImage source, Instagram

Special report on the bombing

Subdued but strong: Manchester the morning after

What we know so far

All the latest developments can be found on the BBC's live page.

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, external, and find us on Facebook, external. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

Top stories

  • US court rules many of Trump's global tariffs are illegal

    • Published
      6 hours ago
  • Police make three arrests during Epping protest

    • Published
      5 hours ago
  • Harry set for UK visit but will he see his father?

    • Published
      8 hours ago

More to explore

  • Harry set for UK visit but will he see his father?

    A split image showing the faces of Prince Harry and King Charles. Both wear blue blazers and light shirts.
  • 'Inn-justice' for Epping and 'Rayner faces sleaze inquiry'

    The front pages of the Sun and the Daily Telegraph.
  • How coffee chains like Costa lost the matcha generation

    Two young women one with long brown hair and a grey hoodie and one with blonde hair in a slick back bun and a black leather bomber both holding green iced matcha drinks with straws on a street outside a Blank Street Coffee shop in London
  • Manhunt in Australian bush brings long-dismissed conspiracy theorists to the fore

    A man stands on a bus stop holding a sign saying "freedom" in bold capital letters. A line of police officers backs can be seen at the bottom of the picture, all in high vis tops. The street they are on is lined with trees which have lost their leaves
  • I asked a bus passenger to turn his phone down - he called me miserable

    A man in a white t-shirt and blue denim jacket sits on a bus next to the window and uses his phone. His face is out of the camera shot. Another passenger sat next to him also uses their phone.
  • What Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding could look like

    A screenshot taken from Instagram showing Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift hug each other
  • Meet the three-year-olds helping anxious teens spend more time in school

    A teenage girl and a toddler smiling and talking to each other
  • 'Gringos out!': Mexicans protest against tourists and gentrification

    A man shouts into a loudhailer on a recent anti-gentrification march in Mexico City
  • News Daily: Our flagship daily newsletter delivered to your inbox first thing, with all the latest headlines

    A promo promoting the News Daily newsletter - a graphic of an orange sphere with two concentric crescent shapes around it in a red-orange gradient, like a sound wave.
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    How coffee chains like Costa lost the matcha generation

  2. 2

    'Inn-justice' for Epping and 'Rayner faces sleaze inquiry'

  3. 3

    US court rules many of Trump's global tariffs are illegal

  4. 4

    Julia Roberts: We're losing the art of conversation

  5. 5

    Harry set for UK visit but will he see his father?

  6. 6

    Manhunt in Australian bush brings long-dismissed conspiracy theorists to the fore

  7. 7

    I asked a bus passenger to turn his phone down - he called me miserable

  8. 8

    Tories call for investigation into Rayner's tax affairs

  9. 9

    Police make three arrests during Epping protest

  10. 10

    Brothers set new record for 9,000-mile Pacific row

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • Rolf Larsen investigates the case of a missing child

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    DNA
  • Comedian Bob Mortimer chooses his desert island tracks

    • Attribution
      Sounds
    Desert Island Discs: Bob Mortimer
  • Freddie Mercury: from iconic shots to private snaps

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    A Life in Ten Pictures: Freddie Mercury
  • When an Olympic badminton match caused controversy

    • Attribution
      Sounds
    Sporting Witness: Shuttlecock scandal
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.