Mural for victims of Manchester Arena bombing nears completion

The mural, above Bees Knees cocktail bar on Fairbottom Street, will show a love heart being made with someone's hands, surrounded by 22 bees, one for each of the victims. 

"One Love Manchester" will be written under the heart.

The idea for the mural came in 2019 from director Phil James, but has only just came to fruition.

Mr James said: "I just thought it was a very good way of commemorating the people who lost their lives.

"It was a shock at the time to the whole of the North West."

The design of what the mural will look like when completed.

The painting suffered multiple setbacks causing its delay, but is now on the verge of completion.

Mr James said: "It was planned to be done before Covid, but obviously, when that hit, it had to be pushed back.

"We then planned it for November, but it then got pushed back because of the weather."

The mural is being painted by street artist Jamie Buckley, a painter does interior jobs but he has also done several murals around the North West.

Mr James said: "We wanted to the focus to be on the tragedy, and so [Jamie] came up with that."

The bees will surround the heart.

The mural includes 22 bees for each of the victims of the bombing on May 22, 2017 and is set to be completed over the next couple of days after Mr Buckley began work on Monday.

Mr James concluded: "Hopefully it will be a positive thing for the town and will brighten up the street."

The bee mural will be above Bees Knees cocktail bar on Fairbottom St, Oldham.

The mural can be found on Fairbottom Street, opposite to the Oldham Coliseum Theatre.