As a terror survivor my grief is being acknowledged at last

As a terror survivor my grief is being acknowledged at last Freya Lewis Published November 25, 2025 2:51pm Updated November 25, 2025 2:51pm Share this article via whatsappShare this article via xCopy the link to this article.Link is copiedShare this article via facebook Comment now Comments I’m a survivor of the Manchester terrorist attack at the Ariana Grande concert on May 22 2017 (Picture: Freya Lewis)

Reading the news, I felt quite emotional.

Yesterday, the Home Office revealed that August 21 will, from next year, be a new ‘national day’ to honour victims and survivors of terrorism.

They have said that ‘the day will focus on remembering and recognising those impacted by terrorism, encouraging victims and survivors to access specialist support, educating the public, and amplifying victims’ and survivors’ stories.’

As a survivor of the Manchester terrorist attack at the Ariana Grande concert on May 22 2017, I felt a massive sense of comfort knowing that my grief will no longer be avoided.

That day, I was seriously injured in the attack – and 22 families lost their loved ones, including my best friend, Nell Jones.

I suffered 29 separate injuries, including a broken arm, two broken legs, severe burns, facial and internal injuries. 

There wasn’t any part of my body that hadn’t suffered the effects of shrapnel. My injuries were like those you would see from a battlefield in a war zone. I was admitted to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital where I remained for over five weeks. I had an estimated total of 19 surgeries that came to an end in 2019.

Freya and Nell (Picture: Freya Lewis)

Nell and I had attended that concert as two 14 year old young girls. We both bonded over our love of Ariana and general pop music culture.

We had spent the previous weeks planning everything down to the last detail; what hair style we were going to wear, what makeup products to use, what outfits we were piecing together. 

We even had the concert setlist saved to our phones (admittedly we put more effort into memorising song orders and lyrics than our schoolwork for these few weeks). The anticipation for the concert felt almost more exciting than the actual show itself. 

The Manchester Arena attack happened eight and a half years ago, giving people, understandably, time to move on and sometimes forget it even happened. Unfortunately, for survivors like me, I’m still affected by it on a daily basis; and I always will be.

We both bonded over our love of Ariana (pictured) and general pop music culture (Picture: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

My recovery from the attack hasn’t been smooth both mentally and physically to say the least, but there was one thing that I always knew: my love for concerts would remain the same. 

I had been a regular concert-attender since I saw Miley Cyrus in 2009 when I was seven years old. I can still close my eyes and feel the bass of the music pulsing through my veins and the euphoric feeling of hearing vocals that I’d blasted out of my CD player for years. 

My family and I are gig obsessed; whenever one of us takes a new interest in an artist, we’re quickly searching online for their next concert date in the UK. 

Immediately after the attack, my sister, Georgia, asked me if she could attend the One Love Manchester concert (an inspirational benefit show organised by Miss Grande herself to raise money for those affected by the attack). 

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At the time, I was heavily medicated in hospital and couldn’t comprehend the idea of her wanting to go to a concert, when the last one resulted so horrifically. I felt scared and confused thinking, ‘Won’t the same thing happen again?’.

But a mere couple of weeks later, once I’d recovered more, my mindset changed. 

My family and I had always said we couldn’t look back at what had happened with any form of hatred or anger. Only seven months on, in November, we saw my favourite artist, Harry Styles, live in Manchester.

Don’t get me wrong, on the journey there I felt a mixture of overwhelmed and scared, but as soon as Harry stepped out on stage, those feelings disappeared. I was on cloud nine as I screamed (probably a little too loudly) and sang along to every lyric.

For an outsider, it might almost look as if I’ve ‘moved on’ (Picture: Freya Lewis)

I felt safe, wrapped up in the little concert bubble where everyone in that room shared a common love and admiration of music. It’s the best feeling in the world. It’s a feeling that everyone deserves to experience.

I realised that life is too short to not be having the time of your life, dancing and singing your heart out, surrounded by your friends, family and thousands of others who are doing the same. 

And now, I’m beyond grateful to still be living what could be classed as a ‘normal’ life. I’m working, living in London, striving for my life goals of being an actress and regularly going out with my friends. 

For an outsider, it might almost look as if I’ve ‘moved on’. But that is very much not the case. 

I have good days and bad days, just like anyone else. I have days where I’m struggling with pain or I’m overwhelmed with grief, or I don’t feel like getting out of bed. 

I make sure I tell my family and friends how much I love them (Picture: Freya Lewis)

However, I think this introduction of a national day will be full of gratitude for hundreds of us terror survivors; remembering how much we’ve achieved and overcome, yet acknowledging that we still face difficulties daily.

Every year on May 22nd, I try to spend the day with my family, reflecting on everything we’ve been through, both on that night in 2017 and everything since. 

It’s always a day of mixed emotions but it’s also a day that I’m most proud of myself. I make sure I tell my family and friends how much I love them and I spend time thinking about Nell, my wonderful best friend that I lost. 

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On this new day of remembrance, I suspect I will do the same.

I will feel a massive sense of comfort knowing that there’ll be so many others across the nation also being acknowledged for everything we have been through and still continue to go through. 

It’s a wonderful commemoration that will serve as the honour myself, Nell, and all other victims and survivors of these life-changing attacks deserve.

A version of this article was first published on August 15, 2024.

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