Last night's tragic events at Manchester Arena have left the country in a state of shock this morning, but other local music venues have announced that they will still be opening their doors tonight.
Northern Quarter music venue Soup Kitchen has issued a heartfelt statement on Facebook to say that a live music event planned for tonight will still be going ahead, in spite of the terrorist attack at Manchester Arena which left 22 dead and a further 59 injured.
Credit: Facebook/Soup Kitchen
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American psychedelic rock band White Hills are still set to play the venue tonight, with Soup Kitchen management commenting that they 'don't want [their] shutters to be down'.
The statement, issued via Soup Kitchen's Facebook page on Tuesday morning, opened by saying: "We woke up today like the rest of Manchester distraught, we can't quite believe what happened last night."
Speaking of the decision to go ahead with tonight's gig, the statement read: "We have decided after much thought that we will open today, we don't want our shutters to be down...We have a live music event planned for this evening and are working on making this event still happen and will update in due course."
Soup Kitchen isn't the only city centre venue to have taken this stance in the wake of Monday night's attack. Venues including the Albert Hall, The Deaf Institute, Bridgewater Hall and Gorilla have all commented that their events will still be going ahead tonight as planned.
In a statement on their website, city centre venue Deaf Institute added: "We would like to convey our deep sadness and sympathy to all those who have been affected by the tragic events that occurred last night at Manchester Arena.
"In support of Manchester, the City leadership and the Chief Constable of Manchester we can confirm that all live shows at our venues will be going ahead tonight as planned.
"Additionally, we can confirm that our programme for the next week and beyond is unaffected.
We would like to reassure our guests that our management and security teams are in regular communication with the police and relevant authorities and are continuously reviewing and enhancing our safety procedures."
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Latest figures say that at least 22 people have died as a result of an explosion at Manchester Arena on Monday night, in what Prime Minister Theresa May has described as a 'callous terrorist attack'.
In addition to those who lost their lives, a further 59 were injured.
The incident took place at an Ariana Grande concert, with many children in attendance.
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Grande herself voiced her upset, taking to Twitter to write: "Broken. From the bottom of my heart, I am so so sorry. I don't have words."
Police received reports of an explosion at 10.33pm, shortly after the US pop singer had finished her performance and thousands of people were streaming out of the biggest indoor arena in Europe.
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Officers believe the attack was carried out by one man who died at the scene, although they are still trying to establish whether he was working alone or as part of a network.
Chief constable Ian Hopkins of Greater Manchester Police said in a statement:
"This has been the most horrific incident we have had to face in Greater Manchester and one that we all hoped we would never see. Families and many young people were out to enjoy a concert at the Manchester Arena and have lost their lives."
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Words: Paddy Maddison
