Ariana Grande returned to Manchester, England, for the first time in over two years on Sunday.
The "Boyfriend" singer headlined the Manchester Pride Festival, marking her first appearance in Manchester since 2017, following the Manchester Arena bombing and the subsequent, emotional One Love Manchester benefit concert.
The harrowing attack, which occurred on May 22, 2017, killed 22 people and injured 250 others. Grande helped organize and then performed at the One Love Manchester benefit less than a month later.
While taking the stage on Canal Street during this year's Manchester Pride Festival, Grande reportedly performed "7 Rings," "Break Free," "Side to Side," "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored," and "No Tears Left to Cry," among other hits.
Grande told the audience during the show, "I'm so happy to be with you, so thank you for having me. Sorry, I'm so nervous. I had so much more to say but I'm really very overwhelmed. So thank you," the BBC reports.
Hours before the show kicked off, Grande took to Instagram to celebrate her arrival in the city.
"On our way to manchester pride. ??? love u so much. can’t wait to give u all our love. you’re my heart in every way. see u soon," she wrote.
Grande first announced that she'd be headed to Manchester in February, tweeting, "Manchester babes, i’m so thrilled to be headlining pride. my heart. i cant wait to see u and i love u so so much."
When the singer last appeared on stage in the city to host the One Love Manchester benefit, she was joined by a myriad of huge acts including Justin Bieber, Pharrell Williams, Little Mix, Mac Miller, Coldplay, Miley Cyrus, The Black Eyed Peas, Liam Gallagher and more. Through the Red Cross, the event raised funds for the victims and their families.
A year after the devastating bombing, Grande opened up to Time and reflected on how she was still going through the healing and coping process.
"There are so many people who have suffered such loss and pain. The processing part is going to take forever," she said, adding that the bombing represented "the absolute worst of humanity."
"That’s why I did my best to react the way I did," she added, referring to the benefit concert. "The last thing I would ever want is for my fans to see something like that happen and think it won."
“Music is supposed to be the safest thing in the world. I think that’s why it’s still so heavy on my heart every single day,"Grande shared. "I wish there was more that I could fix. You think with time it’ll become easier to talk about. Or you’ll make peace with it. But every day I wait for that peace to come and it’s still very painful."
A little over a year after the attack, Grande and some of her team got a new tattoo, a bumblebee -- a symbol associated with Manchester.
