Ariana Grande suspends tour after Manchester attack

NEW YORK, USA – Pop star Ariana Grande on Wednesday, May 24 suspended her tour until early June at the earliest after a deadly attack on her show in Manchester that left 22 people dead.

“Due to the tragic events in Manchester, the ‘Dangerous Woman’ tour with Ariana Grande has been suspended until we can further assess the situation and pay our proper respects to those lost,” a statement from her management at Universal Music said.

Grande, who has returned to the United States, will cancel shows scheduled Thursday and Friday at London’s 02 Arena as well as concerts through June 5 in Belgium, Germany, Poland and Switzerland, her management said.

Grande is tentatively scheduled to resume the tour on June 7 at the Bercy arena in Paris.

Her Manila concert is set to be held on August 21 at the Mall of Asia Arena. 

A suicide bomber set off the blast moments after the singer left the stage Monday at the 21,000-capacity Manchester Arena, one of the largest indoor venues in Europe.

“We ask at this time that we all continue to support the city of Manchester and all those families affected by this cowardice and senseless act of violence,” Grande’s management said.

“Our way of life has once again been threatened but we will overcome this together,” it said.

Grande, a 23-year-old former television star whose fan base is full of young girls, has called her latest album and tour “Dangerous Woman,” although her bubblegum pop has rarely been controversial.

Her only direct comment since the attack has been a social media posting shortly afterwards in which she said she felt “broken” and “so so sorry.” (READ: Stars pray for Ariana Grande, fans after concert blast)

The Daily Mail newspaper published photos of a sullen Grande, wearing sweatpants and carrying a backpack, getting off a private jet Tuesday in her hometown of Boca Raton, Florida.

She was welcomed by her boyfriend, the rapper Mac Miller, before heading to her home, media reports said.

Representatives declined comment on her whereabouts but publicly available flight data showed a private jet arriving Tuesday in Boca Raton from Birmingham, England after a brief stop in Wilmington, North Carolina. – Rappler.com