Cannes cancels events, holds moment of silence to grieve for Manchester

CANNES, France — The Cannes Film Festival came to a brief halt Tuesday afternoon, as festival organizers and patrons honored the victims of Monday's attack at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England.

At 3 p.m. local time, festival director Thierry Frémaux led a minute of silence from the red-carpeted steps of the Palais headquarters, where he was joined by actress Isabelle Huppert, festival president Pierre Lescure and employees.

"We are a festival of peace," said Fremaux, in a show of solidarity with the victims, their families and the British people. Twenty-two people were killed, including children, and 59 more were injured in Monday's explosion, which went off at 10:33 p.m. local time at the 21,000-seat Manchester Arena, where Grande had just wrapped her sold-out show.

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"Culture, youth and festive spirit were again targeted and struck," festival organizers said in a statement. "Freedom, generosity and tolerance have been struck, all things to which the festival and all those who make it possible — artists, professionals and spectators — are deeply attached."

Disney called off a promotional event for Cars 3 on Tuesday because of the blast, and Cannes canceled a fireworks display scheduled for its 70th anniversary celebration. No other events in the city had been canceled or postponed as of Tuesday evening, according to Marie Junk, a news service assistant for the city of Cannes.

Cannes spokeswoman Aurélie Foucherot said there were no updates on security measures at the festival, although safety protocol appeared to be consistent with the rest of the festival, which kicked off last Wednesday.

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The streets surrounding the Palais were blocked off and guarded by armed officers carrying machine guns, while local Cannes police carrying handguns checked the bags of people entering the area. To get inside the Palais, festival patrons were also required to go through metal detectors, bag and ID badge checks, and scans with detector wands by security personnel.

Security has been at a "maximum since the beginning of the festival, so there are no (additional) measures (to be taken) since the Manchester attack," Junk said.

Cannes Mayor David Lisnard assured festival-goers that security measures were at their highest and that Cannes would continue to carry "the universal message of culture, in a spirit of openness."

Celebrities including Will Smith, Tilda Swinton, Eva Longoria,  Adrien Brody and Marion Cotillard walked the red carpet for the anniversary celebration Tuesday evening. Nicole Kidman, whose SundanceTV miniseries Top of the Lake: China Girl premiered earlier that day, shared her condolences for the victims and their families.

"It's devastating, devastating for the families that are going through this now," Kidman said. "It's not even to be discussed. It's just to ... pray for them."

Contributing: The Associated Press