Ariana's Manchester benefit gig raises €2.35 million

London: The British Red Cross has raised an "incredible" 2.35 million euros during Ariana Grande's star-studded 'One Love Manchester' benefit concert at Old Trafford stadium on June 4.

Earlier in the day, the society's official account tweeted that its Manchester Emergency Fund had reached 7.3 million euros, bringing the total raised by the concert's end to 9.65 million euros.

The concert was in support of the victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack on May 22.

The fund "will help alleviate immediate suffering and ensure victims and their families do not face short-term financial difficulties," the British Red Cross tweeted.

The concert, organised and headlined by Grande, saw some of the biggest names in the music world, including Coldplay, Take That, Robbie Williams, Pharrell, Miley Cyrus, Niall Horan, The Black Eyed Peas, Imogen Heap, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber.

The 23-year-old pop diva belted out her several hits such as 'Break Free,' 'Side to Side,' 'Be Alright' and 'The Way' during the three-hour show. Ariana Grande cried as she sang a heartbreaking version of 'Somewhere over the rainbow' to close her 'One Love Manchester' benefit concert.

It was an emotional time for Grande, who just days earlier had visited some of the victims in the hospital. She also talked during the show about meeting the mother of one of the victims, Olivia Campbell, 15, who died in the terrorist bombing.

"As soon as I met her, I started crying and I gave her a big hug and she said I should stop crying because Olivia would have wanted me to stop crying," Grande told the audience.

"And she said Olivia would have wanted to hear the hits."

The singer said she had rearranged her line-up to honour Campbell.

After the Take That members Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen finished their gig, Barlow introduced their 'brother' Robbie Williams who was taking to the stage after them, reports metro.co.uk.

Williams came on and Take That started to leave, but he called his former bandmates back so they could take a bow together.

Former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher was a surprise addition to the line-up. Martin filled in for Liam's brother Noel on acoustic guitar, reports bbc.com.

Grammy Award winning singer Justin Bieber fought back tears during a short speech after performing acoustic versions of 'Love yourself' and 'Cold water' at the charity event.

In a voice choked with emotion, the 'Purpose' hitmaker told the audience on June 4 that he wasn't going to "let go of hope", and shared some encouraging words from his faith, reports etonline.com.

"God is good in the midst of the darkness. God is good in the midst of evil. God is in the midst, no matter what is happening in the world. And he loves you, and he's here for you."

"I just want to take this moment to honour the people that were lost, that were taken," he said.

"We love you so much. To the families, we love you so much. Put both hands up to honour those people right now."

The benefit concert has been a star-studded and emotional affair, with heartfelt speeches from performers like Pharrell and Miley Cyrus too.