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A woman looks at flowers in Albert Square in Manchester, northwest England on May 24, 2017, placed in tribute to the victims of the May 22 terror attack at the Manchester Arena.
BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty ImagesLONDON — Security teams missed multiple chances to prevent a suicide bomb attack outside an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena in 2017, a public inquiry has found.
The terror attack on May 22, 2017, caused 22 people to die and more than 800 to be injured, many of them children. It happened at the end of a sold-out Ariana Grande show at Manchester Arena (also now known as AO Arena) when bomber Salman Abedi detonated a home-made explosive device in the venue foyer as fans were exiting the building.
A 200-page report into the attack, published on Thursday (June 17), found that “there were a number of missed opportunities to alter the course of what happened that night” and "more should have been done" by police and security to prevent the bombing.
In particular, the report notes that police should have identified Manchester-born Abedi, who was of Libyan descent, as a potential threat on the night of the attack. Had that occurred, it is likely that Abdedi would still have detonated his device, “but the loss of life and injury is highly likely to have been less,” says John Saunders, who chaired the inquiry.
The report is the first of three that will be produced by the public inquiry, which began last September. It found that arena operators SMG, security company Showsec and the British Transport Police, who were responsible for policing the area where the bomb went off, were "principally responsible” for missed opportunities to prevent or minimize the “devastating impact of the attack.”
They included failing to detect “hostile reconnaissance” carried out by Abdedi on at least three separate occasions prior to May 22, as well as being more alert to the risk of a terrorist attack on the night of the concert.
Saunders says the most striking missed opportunity was the failure of a teenage security guard to take effective steps after a member of the public raised concerns to him about Abedi.
The inquiry found that another security guard, also a teenager, tried to use his radio to alert the security control room after concerns were raised about Abedi, but could not get through.
The report criticizes SMG’s “inadequate” CCTV system, which enabled to Abedi to hide for an hour in a blind spot, and the failure of Showsec staff to conduct an “adequate security patrol” in the 30 minutes leading to the attack.
“It is implicit in the findings that I have made that both SMG and Showsec failed to take steps to improve security at the Arena that they should have taken,” says Saunders.
Of the four British Transport Police officers on duty at the arena on May 22, none were in the foyer at the time of the attack. Two took a two-hour meal break, driving five miles away from the arena to pick up a kebab.
On the night of the bombing, the national terror threat level in the U.K. was severe, meaning an attack was highly likely.
The report makes a number of recommendations to improve security at concert venues, including the introduction of new "protect duty" law, which would place a legal obligation on venue operators to make sure they are prepared for the risk of terror attacks. The British government has initiated a consultation on the proposals.
SMG says since the attack it has improved security procedures at the Manchester Arena by extending the security perimeter around the venue and installing walk-through metal detectors and a new CCTV and access control system.
“However, out of respect for those who tragically lost their lives on the 22nd May 2017, and those whose lives changed forever," SMG says in a statement, "we can never be satisfied that we have done enough.”
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“I know how to make the hard things look really easy,” Addison Rae tells the O2 Academy Brixton crowd, moving playfully across the stage in a glittering silver bikini and tall boots. She’s in the middle of performing ‘High Fashion’, her sultry track that’s more about longing for luxury brands than craving love. But when she hits that lyric, midway through the first of two packed shows at the south London venue, it feels just as much like she’s describing the way her career has unfolded so far.
Becoming a central pop act in 2025 isn’t simple, especially for someone trying to win instant respect with only a handful of tracks and completely reinvent themselves from influencer to credible rising star with genuine cultural weight. Yet Rae has pulled it off, a shift she only really kicked into motion a year ago with the release of ‘Diet Pepsi’, the lead single from her first album, ‘Addison’. Tonight’s show proves how far she’s come, from inviting two fans dressed in throwback versions of her past outfits to join her on stage for a cover of Charli XCX’s ‘Von Dutch’, to sly references sprinkled throughout her set, an Arca remix of ‘Obsessed’ surfacing for a moment, a Britney Spears-flavored twist on 2023’s ‘I Got It Bad’.
Rae has also mastered the trick of looking like a seasoned pop headliner with ease. Before starting her headline tour of the UK and Ireland in Dublin earlier this week (August 25), she’d only played live a small number of times, two intimate album launch parties at The Box in New York and London, an opening slot for Lana Del Rey at Wembley Stadium in July, and a showcase at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. Yet at Brixton she moves like someone who’s been doing this for years, the only slip showing when she breaks character to squeal happily at her fans. “Wow, you’re so loud!” she laughs at one point. “I feel so lucky to be here; it’s such a dream come true.”
Addison Rae. Credit: Samir Hussein
When she’s not bubbling over with gratitude for the crowd, Rae delivers an ecstatic hour of perfectly polished pop. Before she even steps out, wrought iron gates stamped with a bold A slide open across the stage, pulled apart by dancers in neon outfits straight out of Spring Breakers. Rae emerges high on a podium as ‘Fame Is A Gun’ kicks off, dressed in a navy swing dress. By the end of the song, her dancers pull away the outer layer, leaving her in a glowing, fluorescent look underneath – a visual metaphor for stepping fully into fame.
‘Summer Forever’ shimmers with dreamy brightness, ending in a steamy routine with dancer Patrick that leaves them sprawled on the floor, faces inches apart. “Oh my god, Patrick! I might even say that was to die for, but I’m not looking for anything serious right now,” Rae jokes afterward – a cheeky quip that brushes up against corny when you realize her next track is 2023’s ‘2 Die 4’. It’s one of the rare missteps of the night, along with the sometimes clashing visuals, Rae tries to merge. She blends gothic southern elements with glossy LA-style touches, nodding to both her Louisiana roots and California life, but the lack of a clear storyline keeps it from fully landing.
The audience doesn’t seem to care, though. They scream along to every chorus, especially when the singles drop. ‘Aquamarine’, ‘Headphones On’, and ‘Diet Pepsi’ all spark wild sing-alongs that feel more like celebrations for a veteran artist than a newcomer. For the finale, Rae stages one more theatrical moment. Sitting on a podium in the center, dressed in a corset and dramatic tulle skirt, she lets the lights fall to black before the music surges back with a key change, sparks pouring across the screen behind her. Once again, she makes something difficult appear completely effortless.
Addison Rae played:
‘Fame Is A Gun’
‘I Got It Bad’
‘New York’
‘Summer Forever’
‘2 Die 4’
‘Von Dutch’
‘In The Rain’
‘High Fashion’
‘Aquamarine’
‘Headphones On’
‘Money Is Everything’
‘Obsessed’
‘Times Like These’
‘Diet Pepsi’
