MEMORIAL events are set to be held across the region to remember those who lost their lives in the Manchester Arena attack five years ago today.

Among the 22 victims being remembered are Alison Howe and Lisa Lees from Royton.

Lisa Lees, 43, was waiting near the venue's exit doors to collect her daughter, India, at the end of the Ariana Grande concert on the evening of May 22, 2017, when a suicide bomb was detonated.

She was among the victims along with her friend Alison Howe, 44, whose daughter, Darcie, attended the concert with India Lees.

Alison also suffered unsurvivable injuries as she fell to the floor next to Lisa.

Lisa, a mother-of-two, ran her own business providing aromatherapy massages to terminally-ill children and children who were at the end of life.

She had ambitions to open a beauty salon where her other daughter, Lauren, was going to work.

Alison the mother of Sasha and Darcie, and stepmother to Lewis, Jack, Jordan and Harris, was “adored” by her family and loved being a wife, stepmum and mum.

Hundreds of people were injured alongside those who died, which included six children under 16, the youngest aged just eight, in the blast.

In Oldham today, the Civic Centre’s Union flag is being flown at half-mast in memory of those that died.

An event is also being held at Tandle Hill Country Park in Royton from 2pm with live singers and bands to mark the anniversary and celebrate the lives of Alison and Lisa.

Marking the fifth anniversary, Oldham Council leader elect, Cllr Amanda Chadderton Tweeted: “Today is the fifth anniversary of the Manchester Arena attack, our Union flag is being flown at half-mast in memory of those that died. In particular, Lisa Lees and Alison Howe, two Oldham women who never came home. Our thoughts are with all those affected, never forgotten.”

 

Reflecting on the anniversary, Ashton and Failsworth MP Angela Rayner Tweeted: “Five years ago today - yet the pain is all still too real.

“We will never forget the innocent lives lost and changed forever in a horrific act of of terror that night at Manchester Arena.

“We remember them all today”.

 

A Tweet by Oldham Athletic reads: “Always remember. Never forget.

“Today we remember the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing, which left thousands injured and 22 innocent lives lost.

“Our thoughts are with all those affected and the people of Greater Manchester.”

 

Survivors of the Manchester Arena terror attack and Mayor Andy Burnham are also among those marking the fifth anniversary of the tragedy by running a 10km race through Manchester.

The Great Manchester Run will see more than 20,000 racers applauding the 22 victims ahead of the starting pistol, while church bells will toll at 10.31pm – the time a bomb was detonated at the Ariana Grande concert on May 22 2017.

The day will be the first time in three years that people in Manchester can mark the anniversary free of coronavirus restrictions.

Remembrance services will also take place at the Glade of Light Memorial in the city centre, while bells at the nearby Manchester Cathedral will toll at 10.31pm, marking the time of the attack.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge officially opened the permanent memorial earlier this month after it was initially unveiled in January. 

Back in February, a mural painted Bees Knees cocktail bar in Oldham was completed to honour the victims of the bombing.

The mural shows a love heart being made with someone's hands, surrounded by 22 bees, one for each of the victims.