Adele sings ‘Lean on Me’ with Grenfell families

Stormzy also attended the memorial event

One year on from the Grenfell fire, moments of silence have been held across the UK to remember the 72 people who tragically lost their lives in the West London disaster.

Survivors and bereaved family members congregated earlier today at a memorial event near the site of Grenfell tower. A choir performed ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ and ‘Lean On Me’ at today’s commemoration, and Tottenham-born artist Adele attended the event, standing with Grenfell families to sing and pay tribute. Stormzy also attended the memorial.

The day after the Grenfell fire, Adele attended the scene to comfort victims and their families with her husband Simon Konecki. In the following days, she also visited a local fire station for ‘tea and cuddles’, and treated children from Grenfell to a private screening of Despicable Me 3 last August.

The star has also spoken up about the lack of support that Grenfell Tower survivors are being given in the wake of the disaster.  “They’re not receiving the things we think they are. It’s a fucking mess. No information is getting through, people feel helpless,” she said on-stage during a concert at Wembley Stadium. “No one knows what they’re doing down there, it’s chaos.”

A year on from the Grenfell fire, fewer than half of the 256 people made homeless by the disaster have been moved into permanent homes. According to The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, 42 households are currently living in hotels a 12 months later.

Stormzy – who was also present at the memorial event today – took aim at prime minister Theresa May in his performance at the BRIT awards earlier this year, rapping “you thought we all forgot about Grenfell?”

The grime MC later shared a petition on Twitter, urgeing May to take action in the Grenfell Tower inquiry. “Bereaved families & survivors call on PM to exercise her powers under the Inquiries Act 2005 to appoint additional panel members with decision making power to sit alongside Chair in Grenfell Tower Inquiry: to ensure those affected have confidence in & are willing to fully participate in the Inquiry,” reads the petition‘s summary.

Theresa May originally promised that families displaced by the Grenfell fire would be rehomed within three weeks of the June 14 tragedy. She also apologised for not meeting survivors and local residents on her first visit to the Grenfell tower site. At the time she cited ‘security concerns’ as the reason.

Meanwhile, The Queen – who today wore green in memory of those lost at Grenfell – met with residents in the days following the tragedy.

You May Also Like

Advertisement

TRENDING

Advertisement

More Stories