Manchester Natives Display Their Resilience By Singing ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ At Victims’ Vigil

A vigil for the victims of the Manchester bombing of an Ariana Grande concert transformed into a powerful moment of hometown pride and resiliency yesterday. Shortly, after a crowd observed a minute of silence in St. Ann’s Square to pay respect to the victims of the attack, the gathered mass burst into a spontaneous rendition of a song by one of the city’s most famous exports: Oasis.

The somber rendition of “Don’t Look Back In Anger” was started by a single woman, who eventually found the whole crowd singing along.

“The whole ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ is what it’s all about. We can’t be looking backwards, we have to keep looking forward to the future that’s what Manchester does,” originator Lydia Bernsmeier-Rullow told The Mirror. “I have really struggled with what’s happened, the whole city has been affected. I’ve been quite upset but I’ve had great support from work and my family. But the city will recover like it did 20 years ago, it always does. It really touched my heart and gave me shivers to hear everyone joining in.”

Clearly, the moment has touched others as well. Videos of the impromptu singalong — like the one above from ITV correspondent Daniel Hewitt — have been shared thousands of times.