After two young gay men were attacked in Manchester for singing songs from the musical Wicked on a night out, a local choir group decided to stage a singalong to unite against anti-gay hate.
Proud to stand against homophobia with @MLGConline & friends in Manchester #safetosing
Jean-Claude Manseau, 25, and Jake Heaton, 19, received homophobic taunts and were attacked by two men on 1 November after joyfully singing songs on a tram.
Manseau (on the right), who was knocked unconscious and suffered a split lip and a broken nose, said the attack "destroyed every bit of confidence" he had.
Outraged by the attack, campaigners in Manchester set out to show solidarity with the victims.
Getting ready to join @MLGConline @ Piccadilly Gardens #SafeToSing with our awesome @LGF_Angels
The Manchester Lesbian and Gay Chorus were joined by other local choirs and hundreds of supporters of LGBT rights in the city to stage a "Safe to Sing" event.
The supporters sang songs from West End shows and handed out cupcakes to supportive passengers on Manchester's tram system.
Lovely ladies bearing free cakes! Great turnout for @MLGConline #SafeToSing on @MCRMetrolink and Piccadilly Gardens.
Here are the campaigners bursting into song on the tram.
There's something special about the Manchester Community that comes out when there's been injustice. #SafeToSing
Aah, Petula Clark's classic hit 'Canal Street'. I remember that one! #SafetoSing
The campaigners concluded the singalong with a rendition of Wicked’s theme song, "Defying Gravity".
Tony Lloyd, the Greater Manchester's police and crime commissioner, said the singalong showed the "real face" of the city.
One of the young men who was attacked, Heaton, told Manchester Evening News that he felt they had been targeted because they were gay.
"It's completely shocking. Nowadays you think people are mostly accepting of people's sexuality, especially in a big city like Manchester," he said. "We did nothing to provoke it. We were just having a laugh and a sing on the tram."
Greater Manchester police have confirmed that they are treating the attack as a homophobic hate crime, and that no arrests have yet been made.
The producers of Wicked also sent their support to the LGBT campaigners.
In a statement, they said: "On behalf of the entire Wicked UK companies, our thoughts and best wishes go out to both Jean-Claude Manseau and Jake Heaton, as well as their families, and we wish them a speedy recovery from the senseless and violent attack that took place in Manchester."