Olivia Campbell-Hardy's family going to One Love Manchester concert to show 'we aren't going to be beaten'

Thousands of people are expected to attend the benefit which is raising funds for the Red Cross's Manchester Emergency Fund.

Fans who attended Ariana Grande's show at Manchester Arena, which was targeted in a terrorist attack, have registered for free tickets.

The parents of Bury victim, Olivia Campbell-Hardy, Charlotte Campbell, and stepdad Paul Hodgson said it was very important to them to go to the concert on Sunday to show people and show Manchester "that we aren't going to be beaten".

Mr Hodgson added: "We will stand up and carry on as we should be doing. We are going to the concert for that reason."

The couple are also hoping that Olivia herself might play a special part in Sunday's concert. They have expressed a wish that Olivia's own singing might be heard among the many famous voices that will be heard on the poignant occasion.

Mr Hodgson explained: "We hope that if there is going to be tribute to the victims of the arena attack that recordings of Olivia's songs will be played as a background."

In the wake of the attack at the Manchester Arena last week, the devastated couple pledged to "make Olivia a star" and released a recording of her singing the John Legend hit, All of Me, which they hope might become "a song for Manchester".

Ticketmaster confirmed that 10,000 "unscrupulous" applications had been made for the 14,200 free tickets that had been set aside for people who were at the Ariana Grande concert last week.

“More than 25,000 people applied for them. Sadly, over 10,000 unscrupulous applications have been made," said a spokesman.

"At Ticketmaster we are doing everything we can — including extending today’s deadline — to ensure that tickets go to the actual fans and not the opportunists or touts who have also been applying for free tickets.”

Following the general sale, dozens of people were seen on social media and eBay offering to sell their tickets at an increased price after major secondary ticketing sites Seatwave, Get Me In, Viagogo and Stubhub all pledged to not allow the reselling of tickets on their websites.

eBay said they were immediately removing any listings attempting to profit unfairly from the terror attack which killed 22 people and left dozens more injured.

Victim Support has issued advice for anyone attending the One Love Manchester concert. They

have teams from across the North of England who they are hoping will be able to greet people as they get to the event, and give them information they can keep about how to get in touch with Victim Support.

A spokesman said: “Our advice to anyone thinking about attending would be to realise this is going to be an emotional event. Remember that this is about enjoying the music, together, as an act of community recovery. The police and the council have done everything they can to make sure you are safe, and the artists want to treat you to great music — take it as it is intended to be, a concert for healing."

The We Love Manchester Emergency Fund has raised £6.9m for people who have been injured or bereaved as a result of the attack last Monday at the Manchester Arena.

Payments have started to be made to some of the victims and survivors of the Manchester Arena attack.

A new charity has been set up by Manchester City Council to distribute the generous donations among those affected. Trustees have already agreed the first round of funding, which will see around £1m released urgently.

Flat rate payments will be given to families of the bereaved, those who were in hospital for more than seven days, and those who were hospitalised overnight. The early funds will be released as gift payments, meaning that there will be no conditions on how the recipients spend the money to support them and their loved ones through the immediate aftermath of the atrocity.

Once those payments have been made, further funds will be made available in a phased process, with priority given to those who have been bereaved or seriously injured in the attack.

A number of early payments had already been made to help families by Victim Support, the Red Cross and Manchester City Council. These have covered immediate needs, including hotel bills, food and clothing.

Tickets for the “One Love Manchester” benefit concert, being headlined by Ariana Grande this Sunday 4 June at the Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground, went on sale at 10am GMT this morning and sold out within minutes.

Ariana Grande has called on the biggest international names in music to join her, including Justin Bieber, Coldplay, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Pharrell Williams, Usher, Take That, Niall Horan, Black Eyed Peas, Robbie Williams, and Little Mix.

To donate, please go to www.redcross.org.uk/manchester or call 0300 456 4999