AROUND 250 residents paid tribute to the victims of the Manchester Arena bomb attack at the bandstand in Pennington Hall Park yesterday evening, Wednesday.

The event, Leigh Remembers Manchester, returned to the St Helens Road park where there were a host of performances to mark the second anniversary of the atrocity, in which 22 people died at an Ariana Grande concert in 2017.

Organiser Paul Sargent introduced the event at 7pm with a speech and led a two minute silence.

Leigh Journal:

A large worker bee, a symbol of Manchester, chalked on the floor near the bandstand at Pennington Hall Park

Lowton singer Jack Hillidge was the first to perform on the night with Ariana Grande's One Last Time and No Tears Left To Cry.

Leigh Community Choir then performed an acapella song of Lean on Me.

Leigh Journal:

Leigh Community Choir

Jack followed this with a reading with words that echoed what Ariana Grande said in the days after the concert two years ago.

Former X Factor singer Kayley Thomas took to the stage to perform songs Never Enough and My Immortal.

Leigh Journal:

Kayleigh Thomas on stage

Iconic Tony Walsh poem This Is The Place was read out by Samantha Lowe.

Leigh singer Zoe Unsworth followed the reading with two tracks, What The World Needs Now Is Love and Over The Rainbow.

Leigh Journal:

Leigh Journal:

To close the night the artists collaborated to perform a rendition of Oasis' Don't Look Back In Anger and bring the event to a close.

DJ entertainment was provided by Stuart Smith of Smooths Discos, who will be compering.

A memorial tree that Paul's employer, Sankey and Monks Funeral Directors, bought for the park, with financial support from Wigan Council, is now in place.

A memorial stone is also at the park which was donated by Linda Seddon, daughter of Ken Bates from the former business, K Bates Master Masons.

Leigh Journal:

The memorial tree

Leigh Journal:

Messages on the memorial tree

Leigh Journal:

The memorial stone

The engravings were completed by Sankey and Monks.

Caffeina Cafe was open too.