10 New Facts To Know About The 9/11 25th Anniversary Ceremony Friday In New York City As Nation Reflects

NEW YORK — Friday marks 25 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, with families of victims, first responders and elected officials gathering across New York, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, for what organizers are describing as a particularly significant milestone commemoration. Here are 10 things to know about this year's 25th anniversary observances.

The attacks killed 2,977 people across three sites. The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks claimed 2,977 lives at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, according to ABC7 New York. When combined with victims of the Feb. 26, 1993, bombing of the World Trade Center, the total number of names read aloud during this year's ceremony reaches 2,983.
Nearly 9,000 additional deaths are tied to 9/11-related illnesses. Beyond those killed in the initial attacks, an estimated 9,000 people have died over the past 25 years from illnesses connected to their exposure to toxins at Ground Zero and other attack sites, according to ABC7 New York, underscoring the attacks' continuing toll a quarter-century later.
A new, permanent seventh moment of silence has been added this year. For the first time, the ceremony will include an additional moment of silence following the reading of names, specifically honoring those who died from 9/11-related illnesses or injuries in the years since the attacks. According to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, this new moment of silence will become a permanent fixture of the annual commemoration going forward, joining the six existing moments marking when each World Trade Center tower was struck and fell, along with the times corresponding to the attack on the Pentagon and the crash of United Airlines Flight 93.
This year's ceremony begins at 8:30 a.m., with the first moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. The program on the Memorial plaza starts with the reading of victims' names by family members, followed by the first moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., marking the exact time American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center in 2001.
The lottery for family members reading names closed weeks in advance. According to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the lottery determining which family members would participate in this year's in-person reading of the names closed on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, reflecting the significant demand among victims' families to take part in the milestone anniversary ceremony.
The morning ceremony remains private, with public access resuming later in the day. The 9/11 Memorial Museum will be open solely to family members of victims during the morning commemoration, beginning at 8 a.m. The Memorial plaza is expected to reopen to the general public sometime in the afternoon following the conclusion of the ceremony and the lifting of associated security restrictions, though an exact reopening time had not been officially announced as of this week.
The 2026 World Cup has created an unusual overlap with this year's anniversary. The United States, Canada and Mexico are co-hosting this year's FIFA World Cup, with the tournament's final scheduled to be played just miles from the World Trade Center site. In connection with that overlap, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum has launched an exhibit titled "The World's Game: Soccer and 9/11," running through November 2026, examining how the sport offered a space for remembrance and resilience in the years following the attacks, including through fundraising matches and the United States men's national team's surprising quarterfinal run at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
A new exhibit on 9/11-inspired service opens the day after the anniversary. Titled "In Their Honor: 25 Years of 9/11-Inspired Service," the new exhibit is scheduled to open to the public at the museum on Sept. 12, the day immediately following this year's anniversary ceremony, according to ABC7 New York.
A separate exhibit examines how comic artists have responded to 9/11 over the past 25 years. Titled "Responding in Ink: Comic Books, Graphic Novels, and 9/11," the exhibit explores how comic artists in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, and in the decades since, have used their medium to process and depict the events of that day, noting that no fictional superheroes arrived to help at the actual attack sites, only real people assisting however they could.
The FDNY is holding its own private 25th anniversary ceremony this year at a new venue. According to the New York City Fire Department, this year's official FDNY 25th anniversary ceremony is being held at SI Ferry Hawks Stadium on Staten Island, a private event reserved specifically for the families of firefighters and other FDNY members lost on Sept. 11, 2001, and in the years since from related illnesses. Separately, a public memorial gathering was held Sept. 6 at West 31st Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan honoring Father Mychal Judge, the FDNY chaplain killed while ministering to firefighters at the World Trade Center on the day of the attacks.

Beyond the formal ceremony itself, New York City is expected to once again illuminate the night sky over Lower Manhattan with the Tribute in Light, the twin columns of light that have become a defining visual symbol of the city's annual remembrance since shortly after the attacks. Officials have cautioned that regular access and transit patterns around the World Trade Center site are likely to be significantly modified throughout the day given the scale of this year's milestone anniversary, with heightened security, increased media presence and larger-than-usual crowds expected across Lower Manhattan.

As the country marks a quarter-century since the attacks, this year's ceremony reflects both continuity with the tradition established in the years immediately following Sept. 11, 2001, and new additions, including the permanent seventh moment of silence and expanded museum programming, aimed at ensuring the attacks' full toll, including the thousands who have died from related illnesses in the decades since, continues to be formally recognized as part of the nation's ongoing remembrance.