Tens of thousands of people will pay tribute to the 96 victims of the Hillsborough disaster in a special ceremony marking the 27-year struggle for truth.
Crowds will gather on Wednesday evening outside Liverpool’s St George’s Hall, which is adorned with a large banner bearing the names of those who lost their lives on 15 April 1989 and the words ”truth” and ”justice”.
The commemoration will mark the inquest jury’s finding on Tuesday that the 96 fans were unlawfully killed.
Dozens of people arrived at St George’s Hall to pay their respects on Wednesday afternoon, many laying flowers and football scarves on the steps alongside 96 lanterns – one for each of the dead.
Liverpool falls silent as town hall bells ring 96 times for those unlawfully killed at Hillsborough pic.twitter.com/2hEDtyeWZq
— Josh Halliday (@JoshHalliday) April 27, 2016
The names and ages of those who died in the tragedy will be read out and displayed on large screens beside the neo-classical building, whose St George’s flag has been lowered to half-mast.
“Peace at last,” read the message on one bouquet of flowers. “Sleep in peace now 96 angels #JTF96 YNWA,” said another.
More than 20,000 people are expected at the vigil – about the same number that gathered outside St George’s Hall when John Lennon was shot dead on 14 December 1980.
Planners believe the event will attract nearly three times the 6,000 people who took part in a memorial following the Hillsborough independent panel’s report in 2012.
Hillsborough: Around 20,000 expected to pay their respects at tonight's vigil - nearly treble the number from 2012 pic.twitter.com/IfHf9WzlsW
— Josh Halliday (@JoshHalliday) April 27, 2016
The vigil, which begins at 5.45pm, is advertised on billboards around Liverpool and main roads leading into the city. There will be speeches by civic leaders, and BBC Radio Merseyside’s Roger Phillips will host the event. The proceedings will conclude with the Sense of Sound choir performing You’ll Never Walk Alone, Liverpool FC’s anthem.
At Liverpool’s town hall, onlookers stood in silence as the bells tolled 96 times at 3.06pm, the time the FA Cup semi-final was stopped.
Samantha Ellam, 48, was making her way into work with her friend Barbara Jones, 60, when they stopped in their tracks and bowed their heads to remember the victims. “There’s a lot of togetherness here. Someone said it on the radio and I agree: yesterday and today I’ve felt a closeness in the city,” she said.
Jones said Liverpool had an image problem but that Liverpudlians had an inner strength to battle injustices like Hillsborough. She said: “We have a negative reputation but if you’re actually from Liverpool it is a positive feeling you get to carry you through when you need it.”
She added: “I must’ve been cathartic for them [the Hillsborough victims’ families] that the right result was found and maybe some time in the future the right people will be brought to account for the injustice that was done for the last 27 years.”
Debbie Thompson, 49, was with her 83-year-old mother, Maud Thompson, as big screens were being erected outside the venue in preparation for the vigil. “It’s very moving. We couldn’t not be in the city centre and not visit St George’s Hall today,” she said. “This is where the emotion is and where you can pay your respects. Everybody knows someone who was there.”
Fruit-seller Terry Bennett, 72 – the self-styled “biggest bananaman in the country” – swapped his usual stall at Bootle market for a pitch outside St George’s Hall to give away free fruit. Bennett, who was in the upper tier of Hillsborough’s Leppings Lane end on the day of the disaster, said it was a “phenomenal” time for Liverpool.
“It means that our city can relax. We haven’t got that worry in our head of everyone who accused the supporters,” he said. “It’s took 27 years to get the truth out and now every single scouser feels relief. Everyone you speak to – it is unreal. It means absolutely the world. It’s like when my first grandson was born – this is the same feeling.”
Fruit seller Terry Bennett, aka "biggest banana man in the country, is giving away bananas outside St George's Hall pic.twitter.com/liKQwaTXyz
— Josh Halliday (@JoshHalliday) April 27, 2016
Others outside St George’s Hall were daytrippers, including Brian Crick, 83, who was on a tour of Liverpool’s Anfield football stadium with his wife on Tuesday afternoon when the inquest verdicts were returned.
“It really brought it home to us because we were there,” he said. “The thing that stuck is that everyone is moaning about the police officer but everyone can make mistakes. But it’s the hiding evidence that should be given more prominence – that is the greater crime.”
Liverpool’s mayor, Joe Anderson, said the commemorative event was “an opportunity for the city to come together with the families and campaigners and show the world the overwhelming spirit of comradeship and solidarity that exists in this city towards them”.
He added: “So many people have been touched by their struggle over nearly three decades. They are an example to everyone who seeks out truth and justice, and tomorrow’s event is a chance for the city to say thank you to them and to remember the lives of their loved ones.”
