This year marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attack in the U.S. carried out by 19 members of the Al-Qaeda group led by Osama bin Laden, which killed nearly 3,000 people.
Commemorations will take place on September 11 at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City (starting at 8:30 a.m. local time) and at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania (beginning at 9:45 a.m. local time).
The attack saw four planes hijacked by the Al-Qaeda members, two of which crashed into the two towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.
A third aircraft hit the Pentagon, while a fourth (Flight 93) crashed in a field in southern Pennsylvania,
Amid the ongoing COVID-19, the ceremony in New York City will be "exclusively for 9/11 family members," the museum said. The New York Post reported on August 14 that invitations had been sent to the relatives of the victims of 9/11.
According to the Post, a memorial spokeswoman, Lee Cochran, said at the time: "The invited family members can bring as many additional family member guests as they'd like."
The "September 11 Observance" to be held in Pennsylvania is "free and open to the public," the National Park Service (NPS) website says.
How to Stream 9/11 Memorial Services Online
The 9/11 memorial services in New York City and Pennsylvania are expected to be broadcast live online by several major television networks, as per previous years.
NBC News, CNBC, ABC News, CBS News, Fox Business and various local affiliate television stations, such as Missouri's KSDK News, have all previously livestreamed the 9/11 commemorations on their respective YouTube and other social media channels.
It's also worth monitoring the "Watch Live" section of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum website, where the museum has previously livestreamed other events.
9/11 Memorial Service Schedule
New York City
The focus of the service in New York City will entail the reading of the victims' names by family members, according the 9/11 Memorial & Museum website.
There will also be six moments of silence observed throughout the ceremony, "acknowledging when each of the World Trade Center towers was struck and fell and the times corresponding to the attack on the Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93," the museum website explained. The first moment of silence will be observed at 8:46 a.m. local time.
Access to the New York City memorial service will be available from 7:00 a.m. local time on September 11 and the event is expected to conclude at around 1:00 p.m. local time, the museum said.
"At sundown, the annual 'Tribute in Light' will once again illuminate the sky in commemoration of the anniversary of the attacks," according to the museum website.
See the museum website for more information.
Pennsylvania
The observance will begin at 9:45 a.m. local time on September 11 on Memorial Plaza, according to the NPS website.
"At 10:03 a.m. [local time]—the moment Flight 93 crashed—the names of the passengers and crew members will be read, the Bells of Remembrance will be rung in their memory, and a wreath will be placed at the Wall of Names.
"At the conclusion of the wreath laying, the ceremonial gate to the crash site will be opened and family members will walk out to the crash site," the NPS website says.
As part of the memorial service, there will also be a "Tribute Memorial Concert" featuring the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, which will perform Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 "From the New World."
The time of the concert, which is also free and open to the public, has yet to be confirmed, the NPS website says.
Check the NPS website for the latest information.
The graphic below, produced by Statista, shows the number of World Trade Center-related deaths among firefighters in the FDNY (Fire Department of the City of New York).
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