9/11 Tribute in Light canceled due to COVID-19

Organizers said they hoped to be back for the 20th anniversary.

August 14, 2020, 11:22 AM

The Tribute in Light, a 9/11 commemoration that takes place over Lower Manhattan, has been canceled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"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," according to a statement posted on the 9/11 Memorial & Museum website.

PHOTO: The annual Tribute in Light is illuminated on the skyline of lower Manhattan on the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in New York City on Sept. 11, 2019 as seen from Jersey City, N.J.
The annual Tribute in Light is illuminated on the skyline of lower Manhattan on the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in New York City on Sept. 11, 2019 as seen from Jersey City, N.J.
Gary Hershorn/Getty Images, FILE

Organizers said they hope to resume the tribute for the 20th anniversary next year.

Tribute in Light is a public art installation in which twin beams of light are projected into the sky.

PHOTO: The annual Tribute in Light begins to fade on the skyline of lower Manhattan as the sun rises in New York City on Sept. 12, 2019 as seen from Hoboken, N.J.
The annual Tribute in Light begins to fade on the skyline of lower Manhattan as the sun rises in New York City on Sept. 12, 2019 as seen from Hoboken, N.J.
Gary Hershorn/Corbis via Getty Images, FILE

The beams reach up to four miles into the sky and are made of eighty-eight 7,000-watt xenon light bulbs positioned into two 48-foot squares, mimicking the Twin Towers before they were brought down in the terrorist attack.

The U.S. has the most cases in the world of the coronavirus at 5.2 million. New York City was considered the first epicenter in the country, though cases have since plateaued.

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