Cannes festival to pay tribute to Manchester victims, cancels 70th anniversary fireworks
Adham Youssef from Cannes, Tuesday 23 May 2017
The festival described Manchester bombing attack as 'yet another attack on culture, freedom, generosity and tolerance'


During the Tuesday morning screening of director Abbas Kiarostami’s 24 Frames, Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux announced there will be a minute of silence to honour the victims of the Manchester terrorist attack that took place Monday night.

Fremaux also announced that scheduled fireworks celebrating the 70th anniversary of the festival would be cancelled.

The attack claimed the lives of 22 people, including children, during an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester in what is believed to have been a suicide bombing.

The festival released an official statement expressing “its horror, anger and immense sadness” following the attack.

“This is yet another attack on culture, youth and joyfulness, on our freedom, generosity and tolerance, all things that the Festival and those who make it possible – the artists, professionals and spectators – hold dear,” the statement added.

The minute of silence will take place on the steps of the Palais des Festivals, the headquarters of the film festival.

A photo call and a private reception that were planned to take place for Pixar’s animated film Cars 3 have been cancelled.

Representative from Pixar released a statement mid-Tuesday saying “out of respect for the casualties and all of those impacted, we are not moving forward with today's promotional activities."

French security has been tight around the screenings and events at Cannes. Members of the local police and special forces are patrolling the surrounding areas and inside the headquarters of the festival.

On Saturday, the Debussy Theater was evacuated as press members were getting ready to watch Michel Hazanavicius’ Redoubtable due to the presence of a suspicious bag.

Reuters reported that "at least 22 people, including some children, were killed and 59 wounded when a suicide bomber struck as thousands of fans streamed out of a concert by U.S. singer Ariana Grande in the English city of Manchester on Monday."

"Police said the attacker died after detonating explosives shortly after 10:33 pm (21:33 GMT) at Manchester Arena, which has the capacity to hold 21,000 people. Children were among the dead."

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