Young performers to remember South Shields couple Chloe Rutherford and Liam Curry on Pink and Blue Day

Thirty local performers will take part in the event, which will be live streamed on Friday, May 22.

The date marks three years since South Shields teenagers Chloe Rutherford and Liam Curry lost their lives when a suicide bomber targeted the Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena.

The singers and musicians - aged between nine and 19-years-old - are all members of non-profit performance group Own Your Stage.

They are hoping to raise much needed funds for the Chloe and Liam Together Forever Trust which was set up to help young people achieve their dreams in performance and sport.

Own Your Stage musical director Colette Cooke, a teacher at SS Peter and Paul Primary School where Liam was a pupil, came up with the idea after her daughter Lily received a bursary from the trust.

Each musician will perform two songs live, along with messages from Chloe and Liam's family and the trust’s patron Ray Spencer.

Founder of Own Your Stage, Sean Condon, said: “It’s a cause very close to our hearts.

“We hope it will be a massive success for the trust and a fitting memorial to Chloe and Liam.”

As is tradition, the borough will remember Chloe and Liam on Friday with Pink and Blue Day - but this year people are being urged to do so from home instead.The families have invited people to turn social media pink and blue with photos of their homes and to raise a glass to the couple at 10.31pm.

A spokesperson for the trust commented: “We are overwhelmed by how much everyone is supportive of us as families and of the trust. The amount of people getting involved is unbelievable considering what everyone is going through at the moment.

“We are asking everyone to get involved in whatever way they can, to decorate your home pink and blue, or dress in pink and blue and raise a glass at 10.31pm.”

The showcase will take place from 4pm-8pm on the Own Your Lockdown page.

You can donate via Just Giving.

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