BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- British police confirmed early Tuesday that 19 people were killed and 59 more injured in a blast that occurred outside Manchester Arena right after the end of a concert late Monday night.
Manchester Arena, formerly known as the MEN Arena, managed and operated by SMG Europe, is one of the busiest venues in the world and the largest indoor arena in Europe.
The Arena is in Hunts Bank, Manchester, England, situated immediately north of the city center, and most of the arena is situated above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space.
The arena regularly hosts concerts by major stars like Ariana Grande -- a 23-year-old American TV teen actress-turned-pop star. She is currently on a European tour -- she's already played Birmingham and Dublin and is due to be at the O2 Arena in London on Wednesday and Thursday.
Since opening in 1995, the Arena has hosted the biggest names in live entertainment including U2, The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Luciano Pavarotti and the record-breaking 2010/2011 residency by local comedian Peter Kay.
In addition to live music, the venue has also staged some of the biggest events in the UK sporting calendar including several 2002 Commonwealth Games' events, the 2012 Olympic basketball warm-up match between team USA and GB, the 2008 FINA World Swimming Championships and international boxing bouts.
Attracting over 1 million visitors each year, the 21,000 capacity Arena is a former winner of the industry's prestigious International Venue of the Year award.
