Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1616 EAT on Friday 11 September 2026

As the first of seven bells rang out moments ago to honour the first plane that struck the North Tower, large crowds gathered solemnly outside the barricades surrounding the 9/11 Memorial and in a nearby park.

The area remained quiet, apart from the chatter of police radios and the distant wail of an ambulance.

A short while ago, we caught a glimpse of former US presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama in New York ahead of today’s ceremony.

They were seen alongside former first ladies Jill Biden and Michelle Obama.

Biden was also pictured speaking with former President George W. Bush, who was president at the time of the September 11, 2001, attacks.

As we wait for the ceremony to get under way, more New Yorkers and elected officials have arrived, including former Governor Andrew Cuomo and current Governor Kathy Hochul.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was also seen at the memorial, wiping away tears.

Lutnick was dropping off his son on his first day of kindergarten on September 11, 2001, and therefore avoided the attacks that killed all 658 of his colleagues at Cantor Fitzgerald, including his brother Gary. They were working on the 101st to 105th floors of the World Trade Center when the attacks took place.

Taylor Blythe, 26, was just one year old when the September 11, 2001, attacks took place.

“A lot of us were just kids when it happened. We didn’t really realize the impact it would have on us until we got older,” he says.

Growing up in Iowa, Blythe says he developed a passion for the fire service, which inspired him to learn more about the sacrifices made by firefighters on 9/11 and in the years that followed.

“Guys just going to work, doing what they do, climbing up 110 flights, knowing that they’re probably gonna die, but if they can save somebody, then that’s just part of their job,” he says.

“That’s why every year I climb 110 flights of stairs to honour them.”

Now serves as a volunteer firefighter.

James Stanley, 41, is part of a group of runners who travelled from Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to the Pentagon in Virginia and then to the Twin Towers in New York City — the three sites where the four hijacked planes crashed on September 11, 2001.

The journey, organised by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, covers 485 miles (780km) in total, with participants running the route in multiple legs over several days. Stanley ran 125 of those miles — roughly the equivalent of a marathon each day.

A 17-year Navy veteran, Stanley says the run is “just my way of saying thanks and remembering”.

Stanley was in high school when the 9/11 attacks happened. He remembers watching television in disbelief after the first plane struck the North Tower.

At first, he says, he thought it was an accident until he saw the second plane hit the South Tower.

He says he wants younger generations to remember that “a lot of heroes died that day”.

Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama have released a statement commemorating those who lost their lives on 9/11 and in the aftermath.

“If you were young in 2001, or weren’t even born yet, it can be hard to imagine what 9/11 felt like,” they wrote in the statement. “The heartbreak of the families whose loved ones were taken with such swiftness and cruelty.”

The former president and first lady said they were “remembering those we lost that day, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the wars that followed”.

“And we hope Americans everywhere remember the true lesson of 9/11: that we can survive even our darkest days as long as we move forward as one nation and one people,” they added.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla recently paid tribute to the victims of the September 11 attacks during their state visit to the United States.

The royal couple visited the 9/11 Memorial in New York and laid flowers at the South Tower Memorial Pool.

A handwritten note accompanying the flowers read: “We honour the memory for those who so tragically lost their lives on 11th September 2001.

“We stand in enduring solidarity with the American people and in the face of their profound loss. Charles R Camilla.”

They were welcomed by the memorial’s chairman and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, as well as current Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who spoke earlier.

The King and Queen also spoke with first responders, representatives of charities that have supported victims’ families, and educational groups working to preserve the memory of the events of 2001.

-BBC

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