Politics

Confusion over whether Ariana Grande's world tour will go ahead after the deadly attack at her Manchester concert

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On Tuesday morning, reports suggested singer Ariana Grande had suspended her world tour following the deadly suspected terror attack at her Manchester concert on Monday.

At least 22 people have died, some of those children, and 59 others were injured in an explosion at Manchester Arena on Monday evening.

Police are treating the incident as a terrorist attack.

Early this morning, the singer tweeted that she was "broken" following the attack.

TMZ reported that the she will be suspending her European tour for the time being — she was scheduled to perform in London on Thursday, as well as in Belgium, Poland, Germany and Switzerland.

However, the AP reported on Tuesday afternoon that the tour is still on.

"Ariana Grande’s tour has not been cancelled or postponed despite reports online, a person close to the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not allowed to publicly talk about the topic, said," the report stated.

"The person said that Grande and her team are more focused on the victims at the moment, not the tour."

A press release from the O2 read: "Ariana is due to perform at The O2 on Thursday and Friday and we will advise as soon as we can as to the status of those shows."

Following the attacks, sources in contact with the entertainment site reportedly told TMZ that Grande was "inconsolable" and "in hysterics" when she learned of the casualties following the attack and is in "no condition to perform."

Grande's manager, Scooter Braun, followed up with a statement, saying in part: "We mourn the lives of children and loved ones taken by this cowardly act. We are thankful for the selfless service tonight of Manchester's first responders who rushed towards danger to help save lives."

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Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester.  Reuters

The explosion occurred around 10:30 p.m. local time (BST). 

Speaking to Manchester Evening News, concertgoer Sibion Joyce said: "The concert had ended and she had played her last encore. She went off and the lights came on. Everyone got up to leave. As we did we just heard a loud bang. People were running and people were really scared."

Chief constable Ian Hopkins from Manchester police says the attacker was one lone man and he was "carrying an improvised explosive device, which he detonated causing this atrocity."

The police confirmed the attacker died in the explosion and are establishing whether "he was acting alone or as part of a network."

Hopkins said investigations are continuing to establish if he was part of a network and there is a detailed forensic search of the area. He asked "we would ask people not to speculate on his details or to share names. There is a complex and wide-ranging investigation under way."

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Ali is Deputy Editor of Life Insider. Based in the London office, she oversees and often personally contributes to Insider's lifestyle, entertainment, digital culture, health, and royals coverage, working with a team of reporters who cover travel, food, fashion, beauty, fitness, nutrition, relationships, film, TV, celebrities, and influencers, just to name a few topics. While in the UK Ali has previously been editor of The Daily Muse by Fenwick and sports, food, and drink reporter at Marketing Week. She graduated from the MA International Journalism course at City University London and is proud to be Canadian. You can follow her on Twitter at @AL_osaurus. Selected stories: I've visited the Greek island of Santorini twice — and if you think it's just a tourist trap, you're going to all the wrong places What it's like to have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, a misunderstood illness that leaves people in wheelchairs and derails entire careers I moved from Canada to the UK 7 years ago, and while I love London, I can see why Meghan Markle prefers my home country I compared economy and premium economy on British Airways one week apart, and for less than $200, I'd upgrade every time I've lived in London for 6 years — here are the places where you should actually eat