A bee for Manchester.
Hundreds of people across the U.K. are getting bee tattoos in honor of the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing that claimed 22 victims during an Ariana Grande concert.
U.K. tattoo artist Sam Barber started a fundraiser, dubbed the Manchester Tattoo Appeal, which took place Sunday and Monday with the goal of raising £50,000 for victims of the attack and their families.
“We’ve actually got a lot of family members of some of the victims coming forward who want it as a memorial tattoo now,” Barber told the BBC late last week. “Paramedics and health workers who were on the scene, who were there in the aftermath, who also want to come together and get that tattoo done.”
The bee, she explained, is a “symbol of strength.”
The worker bee is also the symbol of Manchester, meant to represent the city’s “hard-working past” during the Industrial Revolution, when textile mills were described as “hives of activity,” according to the Manchester Evening News.
Those looking to show their permanent love and support for the city lined up for their worker bee tattoos at participating tattoo parlors across Manchester.
Andrew, the studio manager at Blue Cardinal Tattoo, felt “overwhelmed by the support everyone has given,” telling HuffPost the response had been “incredible.” The shop, located in Rochdale, helped raise £5,725 over the weekend. “It’s been amazing.”
Beau Redman, who also works at Blue Cardinal, told Vice News that the line outside the shop was “over a mile long.”
“It’s just nice people coming together and getting it not just for charity but to show that they’re also committed to Manchester,” she said. “We’re a good city, aren’t we?”
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