Sky orders feature doc to mark 10th anniversary of Manchester Arena bombing

UK satcaster Sky has commissioned a feature documentary to mark the 10th anniversary of the 2017 terrorist attack at Manchester Arena.

Liesel Evans

Premiering on Sky Documentaries and streamer Now next year, The Manchester Arena Bomb (working title) will unpick the full story of the attack, in which a suicide bomber killed 22 people and injured hundreds more during an Ariana Grande concert.

Produced by All3Media-owned prodco Raw (The Body Next Door) and directed by Sophie Oliver (Boyzone: No Matter What), the 1×100’ doc will feature first-person testimony, honour the memories of those who died and explore how, almost a decade on, the true and lasting impact of the attack is only now coming into focus.

Tom Sheahan and Liesel Evans, exec producers at Raw, said: “This is a film that gives space to the voices of those who were there – what they lived through, how they helped and how they continue to carry it with them today, nearly 10 years on.

“The film will follow a chronological arc – beginning with the anticipation, excitement and euphoria of the concert itself, through the final songs, the explosion, the hysteria, the escape and the rescue, to the days, weeks, months and years that followed, and the extraordinary public response that unified not just Manchester, but the nation as a whole.”

Hayley Reynolds

Hayley Reynolds, head of documentary commissioning at Sky said: “Sky Documentaries is proud to be working with Raw and director Sophie Oliver on this film. Their track record for compelling, thoughtful and sensitive storytelling makes them uniquely placed to take on such an important subject.

“The Manchester Arena bombing was a defining moment in recent British history and, for a generation too young to remember 7/7, their first experience of such a brutal act of domestic terrorism. Ten years on, it remains vital to remember what happened and reflect on its lasting impact.”