9/11 Tribute in Light memorial in NYC is CANCELED because of coronavirus fears
NEW York City’s annual tribute to the 9/11 terror attacks has been canceled this year, with officials citing the coronavirus pandemic.
Tribute In Light has shone over Manhattan on September 11 annually since 2002. But covid-19 concerns for the team behind it mean this year it won’t go ahead.
“This incredibly difficult decision was reached in consultation with our partners after concluding the health risks during the pandemic were far too great for the large crew required to produce the annual Tribute in Light,” a statement on the 9/11 Memorial & Museum read.
Assembled on the roof of the Battery Parking Garage south of the 9/11 Memorial, the twin beams reach up to four miles into the sky and are comprised of eighty-eight 7,000-watt xenon lightbulbs positioned into two 48-foot squares, echoing the shape and orientation of the Twin Towers.
The display shines from dusk on September 11 until dawn the next morning, and on a clear night can be seen up to 60 miles away.
It takes a crew of about 40 stagehands and electricians to install, with the team working closely together for about a week.
Instead, this year a number of skyscrapers and buildings throughout the city will light up their facades and spires in blue to remember the tragedy.
This year marks the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
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On September 11, 2001, a group of Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners.
Two planes – American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 – were flown into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center complex in New York.
Another was flown into the Pentagon in Washington and the fourth, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed into a field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, after a struggle between the hijackers and passengers.
The horrific attacks killed 2,996 people across the four sites.