Taylor Swift kicked off the UK leg of her Reputation world tour by honouring Manchester as she played the city one year on from the terror attack.
The singer took to the stage at the Etihad Stadium on Friday night, where she praised the “incredible resilience” of Mancunians in the wake of the bombings that killed 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert in May 2017.
Addressing the crowd, she said: “What happened just over a year ago in your city was an attempt to steal that innocence and steal that joy and steal that excitement.
“You’ve shown that you’re never going to let anyone forget about those victims. And you’ve shown that you have such incredible resilience to keep dancing and to keep the innocence and to keep the joy and to keep the excitement.
“I just wanted to say, Manchester, it’s such an honour to play for you tonight.”
Taylor embarked on her stadium tour last month to a sell-out crowd in Glendale, Arizona.
It is Taylor’s most ambitious production yet, and the stadium layout has three separate stages, including a 110 foot tall mainstage with a video wall that curves around the floor.
The 24-song setlist showcases her current album, with a series of fan favourites from the ’1989′ and ‘Red’ days thrown on. Even a few older tracks, including ‘Love Story’ and ‘You Belong With Me’ have made the cut.
The ‘End Game’ singer will perform 53 dates worldwide before the tour concludes in Japan in November.
