Ariana Grande's 'One Love Manchester' Concert is UK's Most-Watched TV Program of 2017

Deadline reports that Ariana Grande's 'One Love Manchester' concert held last night is the UK's most watched TV program of the year. According to early ratings, the broadcast averaged 10.9M viewers and delivered a 49.3 share, with a peak of 14.5M. Moreover, 69% of viewers were between the ages of 16-24. Featuring performances by Justin Bieber, Coldplay, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Pharrell Williams, Liam Gallagher, Take That, Robbie Williams and Black Eyed Peas, the concert kicked off at 7PM local time and aired on BBC One. It also played live in over 50 countries under deals with BBC Worldwide. In the U.S., the event aired live on ABC/Freeform. In addition, MTV's digital platform, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube streamed the event.

The benefit, which took place at Manchester's Old Trafford Cricket Ground, raised funds to support the victims of a suicide bombing that killed 22 people at the end of Grande's concert last month. It came within 24 hours of another terrorist attack in London which left seven people dead and dozens injured.

All proceeds from the show went to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund set up by Manchester City Council in partnership with the British Red Cross. The three-hour extravaganza raised over $12 million dollars according to some sources.

During the concert, Grande thanked fans for "coming together and being so loving and strong and unified." She added, "I love you guys so much and I think that the kind of love and unity you're displaying is the medicine the world really needs now so I want to thank you for being just that and I want to thank you for coming tonight."

To donate to the We Love Manchester fund visit http://www.redcross.org.uk/love.

Below, watch Grande's moving performance of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" which closed the show:

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