Why Ariana Grande's Return to Manchester for Pride Was Met With Backlash
Ariana Grande returned to Manchester this past weekend, marking her second visit to the city after the devastating bombing attack at her concert in May 2017. The singer was invited as the headliner for Manchester Pride and, understandably, gave a heartfelt performance.
However, Grande's performance left several fans angry, according to Cosmopolitan. Because of understandably tight security, ticket-holders were reportedly not allowed entry after 7 p.m. Some fans even said that they left to use the bathroom and were not allowed back in. Others claimed on social media that the inflated cost of the event counteracted what Pride was all about.
No warning. Nothing on tickets, email, Twitter or anything. Fans travelled £80 and travelled across country. Nobody from company showing face at gate. Unacceptable and illegal. @CherylOfficial @ArianaGrande @officialtulisa
— Seth Mason (@sethmason) August 25, 2019
Manchester Pride did say that they clarified the strict entry time on Twitter, but people complained it wasn't clear enough.
In addition to the strict entry time, fans were disappointed with how short Ariana's performance was. She came on stage at 10:25 p.m. and was finished by 11 p.m. Fans felt that a 35-minute performance did not justify the cost of their tickets.
The fact that @ManchesterPride hiked their ticket prices so much because of Ariana and she's only doing a 30 minute set *and* they've suddenly changed the last entry time to 7pm (she's on at 10.25pm) is another sign of what a gross money making venture it's become.
— Emily Linka (@emilylinka) August 25, 2019
Even though her performance was short, Grande paused several times during her set to acknowledge what had happened in Manchester just over two years ago. She said to the crowd, "I just wanted to take a second to thank y'all so much for having me here tonight. For so many reasons."
Grande has not responded to the backlash.