Annual Light Installation Honoring 9/11 Victims Is Cancelled Due to the Coronavirus

The annual light installation in New York City has been canceled due to the coronavirus. This annual display aims to honor the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Normally, two columns of light are “projected into the night sky from ground zero,” every September 11th. This replicates “the Twin Towers as a tribute to the victims of the 2001 terror attacks,” described CBS News.

“Tribute in Light”

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum explained the “Tribute in Light” is “a commemorative public art installation first presented six months after 9/11, and then on the night of September 11, from dusk to dawn. It has become an iconic symbol that both honors those killed and celebrates the unbreakable spirit of New York.”

The “Tribute in Light” installation beams four miles into the sky – requiring a large crew to work closely. It features eighty-eight 7,000-watt xenon lightbulbs positioned on the roof of a parking garage, as reported by CBS News.

“’Tribute in Light,’ the world's beloved twin beams of light, will not shine over lower Manhattan as part of this year's 9/11 commemoration,” said the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in a statement.

“This incredibly difficult decision was reached in consultation with our partners,” their statement added. They have concluded that “health risks during the pandemic were far too great for the large crew required to produce the annual ‘Tribute in Light.’”

According to the statement, they also hope to “resume this iconic tribute for the 20th anniversary.”

Nonetheless, a 9/11 tribute will still take place. Michael Frazier, a spokesman for the memorial and museum, said buildings across New York City will light their facades and spires in blue.

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