9/11 anniversary: How the UK is marking the September 11 attacks

10 September 2021, 12:16 | Updated: 10 September 2021, 12:19

A number of 9/11 commemorations will take place around the world.
A number of 9/11 commemorations will take place around the world. Picture: Getty

By Sophie Barnett

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City - the deadliest terrorist incident in world history.

On Saturday, people across the world will honour the 2,983 men, women and children killed in the attack, which saw four aircraft - hijacked by Al-Qaeda - crashing into prominent landmarks.

Of those killed, 246 were on the four planes, 2,606 were in the World Trade Centre and the surrounding area, and 125 were at the Pentagon.

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Below are events taking place in the UK in memory of those who lost their lives.

Remembrance service

The September 11 UK Families Support Group is holding a 20th anniversary Special Service of Remembrance for bereaved families who lost loved ones in the attacks.

The private gathering will take place at the September 11 Memorial Garden in Grosvenor Square, London.

It will be attended by family members only, meaning the garden will be closed to the public between 11am and 5pm.

The focus of the commemoration is the reading of the names by family members and the laying of white roses on the inscription stone within the Garden.

There will also be a one minute silence during the service.

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Candlelight memorial

After sunset an installation of LED candles will be lit in memory of those who died at the Memorial Garden, and this will be open to the public.

The garden will stay open until 8pm.

“An installation of LED candles will be lit within the September 11 Memorial Garden in memory of all our loved ones that perished that day,” the support group says.

“We shall remember the lives of those taken, mourn the beautiful souls no longer with us and celebrate the love they brought into our lives.”

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How is it being marked in the US?

A ceremony will be held at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York.

Six moments of silence will mark the times when each of the World Trade Center towers was struck, when each fell, and the time corresponding to the attack at the Pentagon, and the crash of the US Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.

It will begin with a moment of silence to mark the time American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower at 8.46am, with further moments of silence held to observe the time United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower at 9.03am, American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon at 9.37am, the fall of the South Tower at 9.59am, the time United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania at 10.03am, and the fall of the North Tower at 10.28am.

The 9/11 national memorial in New York.
The 9/11 national memorial in New York. Picture: Alamy