New York City’s Annual 9/11 light Installation canceled over coronavirus

New York City’s annual light installation in honor of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks has been canceled to help control the spread of the new coronavirus, organizers said Thursday.

The two beams of vertical light have traditionally been set up in lower Manhattan in the days leading up to the anniversary of the attacks on the Twin Towers. But officials at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum said Thursday that they wouldn’t have the installation this year out of fear that the virus could spread among the workers needed to create the display.

Instead of the installation, buildings across New York City will light their facades and spires in blue, according to Michael Frazier, a spokesman for the memorial and museum.

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The annual Tribute in Light appears over lower Manhattan in New York City on September 11, 2017 as seen from Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

“The world’s beloved twin beams of light regrettably will not shine over lower Manhattan as part of this year’s tributes to commemorate 9/11,” he said in a statement.

The installation, known as the “Tribute in Light,” will return next year, Mr. Frazier said.

The lights first appeared in March 2002, according to the Municipal Art Society, which originally presented the installation. They can be seen for miles.

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Officials at the museum and memorial also said that this year’s 9/11 anniversary won’t include a live recitation of the names of the victims of Twin Tower attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

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Instead, the memorial will include a broadcast of a prerecorded reading of the names by 9/11 family members at the 9/11 Memorial plaza, officials said.