The United States will on Friday commemorate the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, with memorial services and other events planned across the country in honour of the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives.
In New York City, families of victims will gather at the 9/11 Memorial Plaza for the annual commemoration organized by the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. Relatives will read the names of those killed in the 2001 attacks, as well as victims of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. local time and will include seven moments of silence. The pauses will mark the attacks on the Twin Towers, the collapse of both buildings, the strike on the Pentagon and the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. The observance will also recognize people who have died from illnesses and injuries linked to the attacks in the years since.
Political leaders from New York and across the United States are expected to attend. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is among those expected at the ceremony.
Reports have also indicated that former President Joe Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden, along with former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, are expected to participate. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is also expected to attend.
President Donald Trump is expected to mark the anniversary at the Pentagon in Virginia, the site where hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed on September 11. Vice President JD Vance is expected to attend the New York ceremony.
Ahead of the anniversary, New York City held a special tribute on Wednesday night, when 2,977 lights illuminated the skies over New York Harbor. The number represented each person killed in the attacks, with the drone display later forming the outline of the Twin Towers.
The anniversary comes shortly after the release of more than 170,000 documents relating to health concerns, air quality and the city’s response in the aftermath of the attacks. Some of the records have renewed questions about information provided to New Yorkers about the safety of the air following the collapse of the World Trade Center.
New York firefighters will also hold a separate memorial service on Friday at the FDNY Firefighters Memorial in Manhattan to honour the 343 members of the department who died while responding to the attacks.
At the Pentagon, the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial will be closed to the general public from 3 a.m. until noon to allow for the official 25th anniversary observance. Access during that period will be limited to victims’ relatives, survivors and their families.
In Pennsylvania, commemorative events will take place at the Flight 93 National Memorial, where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed after passengers and crew members fought back against the hijackers.
The morning programme will include the reading of the names of the 40 passengers and crew members, followed by the ringing of remembrance bells. An afternoon event will feature speeches, music and a public wreath-laying ceremony at the Wall of Names.
A further observance is scheduled for Saturday, when 40 candle lanterns will be carried to the Wall of Names and placed beneath the names of those who died aboard Flight 93.
Other cities and communities across the United States are also planning remembrance events as the country reflects on a quarter-century since the attacks that reshaped American life and had lasting consequences around the world.
