A drone display illuminated New York Harbor on Wednesday night as a tribute to the 2,977 people killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
According to the BBC, the display, titled “2,977 Lights Over New York Harbor,” features 2,977 illuminated drones, with each light representing one of the victims.
Videos posted on social media show the lights moving across the night sky before forming the familiar shape of the World Trade Center towers.
Addison Mehr, the project’s creative director and executive producer, said, “The purpose of ‘2,977 Lights’ is to acknowledge individual loss within the collective history and memory of Sept. 11. We light the exact number to hold witness for each individual life.”
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The commemorative installation was developed with input from members of the 9/11 community, including victims’ families, survivors and first responders. According to organizers, the free public artwork was designed around themes of remembrance, reflection and unity.
Several people with connections to the tragedy contributed to the project. They include Brenda Berkman, an FDNY first responder and artist; Tim Brown, who served as an FDNY first responder in 1993 and 2001; Terry Strada, president of 9/11 Families United and widow of Tom Strada; Jim Smith, whose wife, NYPD Officer Moira Smith, was killed on Sept. 11; and Genevieve Siller, daughter of Stephen Siller.
“I helped design 2,977 Lights to honor the innocent and our 343 FDNY heroes. I did it for my brothers Chris Blackwell of Rescue 3, Terry Hatton of Rescue 1, and Michael Lynch of Ladder 4. Three of the 2,977 lights are theirs,” said Tim Brown, an FDNY responder in 1993 and 2001.
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Friday, Sept. 11, marks the 25th anniversary of the attacks that targeted New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and resulted in the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.
Earlier, The Comfort Club, a nonprofit organization that provides weighted plush toys to help individuals cope with loss, trauma, grief, anxiety, illness and other challenges, announced that it would provide more than 1,000 families of victims of the attacks with therapeutic teddy bears to help them process the 25th anniversary of the tragedy.
The organization traveled to New York City ahead of the milestone anniversary to distribute Comfort Cubs to people who lost loved ones in the attacks. The distribution is taking place during the VOICES 25th Anniversary NYC Symposium and Commemorative Luncheon.