Vigil Honors Manchester Victims; Across The Globe People Are Mournful

Thousands of people in Manchester, England, defied a terror warning and poured into the streets Tuesday for a vigil honoring the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing.

A bombing the night before at an Ariana Grande concert killed at least 22 people and wounded dozens more. Authorities identified the attacker as 22-year-old Salman Abedi and have arrested several people in connection with the blast.

Hours before the vigil, British Prime Minister Theresa May announced that another attack could be "imminent." Authorities raised the U.K.'s terror threat level to critical, meaning armed soldiers could be deployed at public events.

Manchester's mayor and its police chief were among the speakers at the vigil held in front of city hall in Albert Square.

People in the crowd held up signs with "I Love MCR," an abbreviation for Manchester.

Around the world, people expressed their condolences for the victims of the Manchester bomb attack.

In Rome, the lights at the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and city hall were turned off — as were the lights at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

At New York's Yankee Stadium, "God Save the Queen" was played along with "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the New York Yankees played the Kansas City Royals.

The stadium's video board read: OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS TO THE VICTIMS IN MANCHESTER.

The lights were also off at the Empire State Building in New York City. A Twitter post said the building would remain dark Tuesday evening "in deep sympathy for the lives lost in Manchester, England."

On Wednesday, there will be a minute of silence before Manchester United plays Ajax in soccer's Europa League final.

The pop group Take That, which was scheduled to perform at Manchester Arena, has postponed shows set for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.