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

  • Police arrest 474 at Palestine Action ban protest

    • Published
      53 minutes ago
  • Vance and Lammy host Ukraine talks ahead of US-Russia summit

    • Published
      2 hours ago
  • Eleven more die from malnutrition in Gaza, Hamas-run health ministry says

    • Published
      8 hours ago

More to explore

  • Prince Andrew book seals his fate for any return

    Prince Andrew, head and shoulders, April 2025
  • Seoul's 'convenience stores' fighting loneliness

    A lively and colorful pedestrian street in Seoul, filled with vibrant crosswalk designs, unique shops, and bustling activity. A woman stands in the middle of a zebra crossing in a winter jacket carrying the sign 'escape room, half price'
  • 'People are angry': Behind the wave of asylum hotel protests

    A man holds a flare during a protest outside The Bell Hotel on July 31, 2025 in Epping, England.
  • Nasa Apollo missions: Stories of the last Moon men

    Harrison Schmitt is photographed next to the United States flag on the lunar surface during the Apollo 17 mission. The highest part of the flag appears to point toward our planet Earth in the distant background. Its red and white stripes are also reflected in the visor of Schmitt's helmet.
  • Faith, family and fishing: The unlikely bond between JD Vance and David Lammy

    Foreign Secretary David Lammy fishing with US vice president JD Vance at Chevening House in Kent. Both men are wearing blue shirts, JD Vance is in jeans and Lammy is in beige chinos.
  • Navigating hook-up culture: 'On Grindr you're an object, like picking clothes online'

    Lewis looking at camera
  • Beloved by bands and bank robbers, the Ford Transit turns 60

    BBC business correspondent Theo Leggett sits with one hand on the wheel of a stationary yellow Ford Transit - the oldest one still in existence, which was built in 1965. On its side are the words GEC-Elliott Traffic Automation Ltd. He is smiling wearing a cap and a blue shirt and jacket and light grey trousers.
  • I made an AI clone of my dead son - and let a journalist interview him

    Image showing Joaquin Oliver in a beenie hat will the sea and sun behind him, with a blue border and the BBC Verify logo in the top left corner
  • Summer Essential: Your family’s guide to the summer, delivered to your inbox every Tuesday

    concentric circles ranging from orange to yellow to represent the sun, with a blue sky background
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Police arrest 474 at Palestine Action ban protest

  2. 2

    Prince Andrew book seals his fate for any return

  3. 3

    Foreign criminals to face deportation after sentencing under new plans

  4. 4

    'People are angry': Behind the wave of asylum hotel protests

  5. 5

    Horse rider, 37, dies following fall during event

  6. 6

    Sturgeon denies 'conspiracy to destroy' mentor Salmond

  7. 7

    Comedian accused of indecent assault in BBC studio

  8. 8

    Vance and Lammy host Ukraine talks ahead of US-Russia summit

  9. 9

    Major incident declared as crews tackle two blazes

  10. 10

    Radioactive water 'leaked into loch' from nuclear base

BBC News Services

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

Best of the BBC

  • Your latest reality TV obsession has landed on iPlayer

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Destination X
  • Jacob Elordi stars in explosive war drama

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    The Narrow Road to the Deep North
  • Inside the front-line fight against cybercriminals

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Panorama: Fighting Cyber Criminals
  • A rare glimpse into the world of rope access

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Our Lives: High Stakes
  • 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.