Ariana Grande Makes Generous Donation To Children's Hospital For The Holidays
Ariana Grande continues to show her unwavering support for Manchester, a city forever linked to her through tragedy and resilience.
Ariana Grande continues to show her unwavering support for Manchester, a city forever linked to her through tragedy and resilience.
The "thank u, next" singer has maintained a heartfelt connection to Manchester since the devastating May 2017 suicide bombing, which took place after her "Dangerous Woman Tour" concert.
The horrific attack claimed 22 lives and left hundreds injured. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Grande quickly organized the One Love Manchester benefit concert in June 2017, raising significant funds to support the victims and their families.
Over the years, Ariana Grande has consistently honored those affected by the attack through various tributes and acts of kindness.
Ariana Grande Makes Generous Donation to Manchester Children's Hospitals, 7 Years After Tragedy
Most recently, on Monday, December 23, the Manchester Foundation Trust Charity announced via Instagram that Grande had made a generous donation to support children across Manchester's hospital network.
"Thank you @arianagrande!" the charity wrote online, adding three sparkle star emojis. "We are so grateful to Ariana for thinking of our young patients this Christmas."
The Instagram post featured heartwarming photos of young patients receiving colorful, festively wrapped gifts and staff members distributing them.
"The gifts she has donated are being distributed to babies, children and teenagers across Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Trafford General Hospital, Wythenshawe Hospital and North Manchester General Hospital. @mftnhs," they added.
Ariana Grande had also made a similar generous donation of gifts to the hospital network back in 2022.
Terrorist Attack Occurs In Manchester
On May 22, 2017, a devastating terrorist attack occurred at Manchester Arena when Salman Abedi detonated a bomb, killing 22 concertgoers and injuring hundreds more, many of whom were children and young people. The explosion happened in the foyer of the arena just moments after Ariana Grande had finished her closing set, as fans began exiting the venue.
In March 2020, Salman's younger brother, Hashem Abedi, was convicted of 22 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, and conspiracy to cause an explosion. Prosecutors revealed he had assisted his brother in building the deadly device used in the attack, per CNN.
The Abedi brothers were raised in Manchester by parents who had fled Libya under the regime of Moammar Gadhafi. Their father, Ramadan Abedi, returned to Libya in 2011 after the fall of Gadhafi's government, with their mother joining him in early 2017.
In April 2017, both Salman and Hashem traveled to Libya to visit family. However, after about three weeks, Salman returned to the UK alone. Just days later, he carried out the horrific attack at Manchester Arena, leaving a lasting scar on the city and its people.
Ariana Grande Celebrates 10 Years Of 'Santa Tell Me' With A Special Revisit
In the spirit of the holidays, Ariana Grande treated fans to a live performance of her festive hit "Santa Tell Me" on December 23.
"Celebrating ten years of 'Santa Tell Me'!" Grande shared. "Thank you so much for all the love you have shown this record over the past decade. Wishing you all a happy happy holiday!"
As reported by Billboard on Monday, December 23, the singer's "Santa Tell Me" saw a notable increase in performance between December 13-19. The holiday hit accumulated 27.7 million official streams (a 17% increase week-over-week), 8.9 million in radio airplay audience (up 3%), and 1,000 sales (up 12%) in the U.S.
The release is part of a special series tied to the promotion of her upcoming album, "Eternal Sunshine."
Ariana Grande's Original Plan For 'Santa Tell Me' Was Much Different
The "Santa Tell Me" music video keeps things light and festive, showing Ariana Grande and her friends having fun in cozy Christmas pajamas. However, this scene wasn't the original plan.
In a video celebrating the song reaching 1 billion streams on Spotify, Grande revealed, "We did [the video that was released] last minute with no budget just to have something to put out," she said. "The original video, I was in weird Christmas lingerie and I was hitting Santa with a cane pole. And that was something I was really insistent [on]."
Grande added, "I was like, 'That is the right vibe for this song. Believe you me, I know it.' And the label was like, 'Hey, honey, I don't think we can use this.' I'm glad I was reeled in that time!'"
Ariana Grande And Ethan Slater Pick Out Christmas Tree In NYC
Earlier this month, "Wicked" co-stars and real-life couple Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater were seen getting into the holiday spirit while picking out a Christmas tree in New York City.
An insider told Page Six that "Ariana Grande and her boyfriend, Ethan, [were] buying a Christmas Tree from Yianni Karadimas' Christmas tree stand on 62nd [and] Broadway" in Manhattan.
The towering Christmas tree reportedly cost the couple $300. "They are celebrating the success of 'Wicked' and keeping things low-key as they enjoy the holiday season together," the source added.
