The United States is marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on Friday, with memorials and remembrance ceremonies taking place across the country to honor the nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks. In New York City, the national September 11 memorial and museum’s annual commemoration ceremony got under way Friday morning. Family members of victims gathered at the 9/11 Memorial Plaza as the names of those killed in the 9/11 attacks and in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing were read aloud.
The 25th commemoration ceremony began with the first moment of silence at 8.46am, marking the moment when the first passenger plane hijacked by al-Qaida jihadists struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. This year seven moments of silence were planned in total. These include the annual six marking the times when each of the twin towers was struck and then fell, as well as the times of the attack on the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and the crash of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.
And a seventh moment of silence, which was added to the ceremony this year, was to honor the thousands of people who “have died from the health effects of 9/11 and its aftermath” in the years since the attacks. Working on rescue, recovery and clearing up for months amid the toxicity created at Ground Zero and in Lower Manhattan has been linked to a wide swath of cancers and respiratory diseases. Current and former New York City leaders and other political figures attended the ceremony, including the city’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani as well as former mayors Michael Bloomberg, Rudy Giuliani and Bill de Blasio.
Joe Biden and Jill Biden also attended, along with Barack Obama and Michelle Obama; George W Bush and Laura Bush; and Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton. The US vice-president, JD Vance also attended the New York ceremony, as well as Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary. Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are attending the ceremony at the Pentagon, where American Airlines Flight 77 crashed after being hijacked.
That ceremony is scheduled to begin at 9am ET. The US president is expected to speak, and the Trumps will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony. Earlier on Friday morning, a large American flag was unfurled against the side of the Pentagon building, echoing one draped that way on the day of the attacks.
On Wednesday night in New York City, a drone show featuring 2,977 lights, one for each person killed in the attacks, illuminated the skies over New York Harbor, before forming the outline of the twin towers. Friday’s memorial ceremonies come just days after the Mamdani administration released more than 170,000 documents related to the health concerns, air quality and the city’s response to the attacks, including records suggesting that New Yorkers were misled about the safety of the air quality after the attacks. Also on Friday morning, New York City firefighters are scheduled to hold a ceremony at the FDNY firefighters memorial on Manhattan’s Upper West Side to honor the 343 members of the department who lost their lives on September 11.
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