A National Moment called Light the Darkness is taking place for Holocaust Memorial Day. Organised by Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, at 8pm on 27 January, households across the UK are lighting candles and safely placing them in their windows, to remember victims of genocide and unite against prejudice.
The theme of Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) 2021 is ‘Be the light in the darkness’.
In the lead up to the moment, Premier League footballers (from Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brighton & Hove Albion, Chelsea, Fulham, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Sheffield United, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers) called the nation to unite on the day and light the darkness at 8pm.
Iconic landmarks and billboards across the UK are taking part in the National Moment by lighting up in purple – a global HMD colour – for HMD, including:
- Billboards and signs across the UK, working with Ocean Outdoor and JCDecaux
- London Eye
- BT Tower
- Battersea Power Station
- Wembley Stadium
- Natural History Museum
- British Library
- Imperial War Museum London
- Imperial War Museum Manchester
- Blackpool Tower
- Coutts bank on the Strand
- PwC headquarters on Embankment
- NatWest headquarters
- Tower 42 in London (renowned for its lights displayed)
- MediaCityUK, Salford, Greater Manchester
- The Lowry, Salford, Greater Manchester
- The Tyne Bridge, Newcastle
- Sunderland Beacon of Light
- Wales Millennium Centre
- Caerphilly Castle
- Gateshead Millennium Bridge
- Durham Castle
- Welsh Government Building in Cathays park
- Castell Coch
- Cardiff castle (the Keep)
- Cardiff City Hall
- The Senedd
- The Bear Grylls Adventure Centre in Birmingham
Please note: the landmarks are only lighting up to mark HMD and to take part in the National Moment. The lightings up are not to encourage the public to go outside and see the lights.
Twitter developed a special global emoji for this year’s HMD – a candle with a purple flame.
Royal Mail are running a special postmark for 25 – 27 January, in the lead up to the National Moment, called Light the Darkness.
UK HMD Commemorative Ceremony will be taking place online, for the first time in the history of HMD, from 7–8pm on 27 January.
The person behind the Holocaust Memorial Day, Olivia Marks-Woldman OBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said: “As with everything else, we’ve had to change how we mark Holocaust Memorial Day this year. Our priority was to keep contributors, especially Holocaust survivors, safe. We are so grateful to everyone who made HMD happen this year: the government, celebrity readers, landmarks and billboards that lit up in purple – and to people across the UK who put candles in their windows. It has enabled everyone – despite the pandemic – to learn from genocide for a better future."
