One Direction thrilled thousands of screaming fans in their trio of Etihad Stadium gigs this weekend and left Manchester – and Twitter – in a 1D frenzy.
Around 50,000 fanatics packed the ground to the rafters each night to catch a glimpse of the teen heart throbs, as they played a trio of blockbuster shows on the Manchester leg of their summer world tour.
The quartet, who have been branded by some as the ‘new Beatles’, cause pandemonium whereever they go and Manchester certainly was no different.
Manchester, you were absolutely lovely.. Thank you for coming. See you tomorrow .x
— Harry Styles (@Harry_Styles) May 31, 2014
The former X factor stars, who made their breakthrough at Manchester United’s stadium Old Trafford in an audition for the show, managed to put their recent high-profile woes behind them and performed to a sell-out crowd at the home of Premier League side Manchester City.
Despite the controversy currently surrounding the lads over an alleged cannabis scandal, hundreds of diehard fans camped out for more than 48 hours in anticipation for Friday’s initial show.
The music megastars performed a medley of their greatest hits and will now travel southbound where they will hit Wembley Stadium.
Crowd were amazing tonight !!!
— Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) June 1, 2014
After the first of three shows, young band member Niall Horan has shown how dedicated One Direction are to their fans by spending a good chunk of his Saturday afternoon meeting and greeting them in Manchester.
“Guys thank you for being patient outside! makes it a lot easier to take pics when everyone is calm!,” said the 20-year-old in a tweet to dedicated 1D fans who had queued for hours outside the band’s city centre hotel.
Manchester has been unreal last couple of nights, atmosphere, stadium, weather , all of it! Tonight is gona be great too!
— Niall Horan (@NiallOfficial) June 1, 2014
And fans continued to rave about the concerts on the social media site.
@onedirection last night in Manchester was the best and biggest concert I have ever been to! Loved every second of it! Xxxxx
— Aimee Laura (@alj1006) June 2, 2014
Literally had THE best night seeing @onedirection in Manchester last night, 9 hour round trip but was so worth it pic.twitter.com/W8WwYgbjVo
— Ellie Hollyman (@Elliefh_xo) June 2, 2014
Amazing night at #manchester @onedirection fantastic performance, awesome atmosphere
— Liz Booth (@lizjbooth83) June 2, 2014
One direction were awesome #manchester #Etihad #fab
— Jessica Atherton (@Jessicatherton8) June 2, 2014
@onedirection we're amazing in Manchester yesterday! Still buzzing!!! Cannot believe I was in the front row! #WWATour
— Taylor Bush (@TaylorJBush) June 2, 2014
Image courtesy of Fiona McKinlay with thanks