Tribute in Light returns to honor 9/11 victims: Where to see them

9/11 Tribute in Light returns

The Tribute in Light will return to the sky over New York City as the city prepares to mark the 23rd anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

NEW YORK - Landmarks across New York City and beyond will illuminate in blue on the night of Sept. 11 as part of the annual "Tribute in Lights" initiative

The backstory:

The tradition was organized in partnership with NYC Tourism + Conventions. The gesture extends the reach of remembrance far beyond Lower Manhattan, uniting communities through shared visibility.

Participants this year include some of New York’s most iconic sites: One World Trade Center, Rockefeller Center, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Grand Central Terminal, and Moynihan Train Hall. 

TOPSHOT - The Tribute in Light is illuminated on the skyline of lower Manhattan in New York City on the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2024. (Photo by Leonardo Munoz / AFP) (Photo by LEONARDO MUNOZ/AFP

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Other locations span from the Albany International Airport Gateway to the Lake Placid Olympic Center, with city institutions like New York City Hall, The Oculus, and the Phoenix at Coney Island’s Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park also joining.

Bridges across the state, including the Bayonne Bridge, the Kosciuszko Bridge, and the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge will glow in solidarity, while Niagara Falls itself will be bathed in blue light.

The tribute stretches beyond New York, with out-of-state landmarks also participating. Among them are the Boston Chamber of Commerce, Cleveland’s Terminal Towers, and Illuminate CLE, a public lighting project in Ohio.

When is the 9/11 Tribute in Light?

The installation will illuminate the night sky from dusk to dawn on September 11.

When was 9/11? How many people died?

On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four planes, crashing two into the Twin Towers in New York City, one into the Pentagon, and the fourth into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to regain control. The attacks claimed the lives of 2,977 people.

According to the FDNY, more members have died from 9/11-related illnesses than were killed in the attacks themselves.

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 11: The annual Tribute in Light is illuminated over the skyline of lower Manhattan on the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2024, in New York City. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty I

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These buildings will light up blue for 9/11

Participants on the 24th anniversary will include:

New York State Buildings

• 425 Park Avenue
• Albany International Airport Gateway
• Alfred E. Smith State Office Building
• Bloomberg L.P.
• Empire Outlets
• Empire State Building
• Empire State Plaza
• Grand Central Terminal—Pershing Square Viaduct
• H. Carl McCall SUNY Building
• Helmsley Building
• JFK Air Traffic Control Tower
• Lake Placid Olympic Center
• LGA East & West Parking Garage Façade
• LGA East Substation
• LGA Terminal C Headhouse
• Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
• Moynihan Train Hall
• MTA LIRR—East End Gateway at Penn Station
• New York City Hall
• New York Comedy Club
• Niagara Falls
• The Oculus
• One Vanderbuilt
• One World Trade Center
• PAC NYC
• The Phoenix at Deno's Wonder Wheel Park, Coney Island
• Rockefeller Center
• RXR Realty Buildings
• State Education Building
• State Fairground—Main Gate & Expo Center
• SUMMIT
• Walkway over the Hudson State Historic Park

Out-of-State Buildings

• Boston Chamber of Commerce (Boston, MA)
• Illuminate CLE (Cleveland, OH)
• Terminal Towers (Cleveland, OH)

Bridges

• Bayonne Bridge
• Fairport Lift Bridge over the Erie Canal
• "Franklin D. Roosevelt" Mid-Hudson Bridge
• Goethals Bridge
• Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge
• Kosciuszko Bridge