NYC Guide: 25th Anniversary of 9/11

Sept. 11th is a somber date in NYC – and in much of the world – as the anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. In 2026, it is especially somber as the 25th anniversary of the day that changed us forever.

A week of free events in NYC remember and honor that terrible day, including concerts, films, talks.

Note that some events require registration.

Also note that the 9/11 area, including the 9/11 Museum, is closed to visitors the morning of 9/11, for the annual Memorial Ceremony for families of victims, First Responders and their survivors, and invited guests, which includes naming all the victims.

• This year, in honor of the 25th anniversary, our four living former presidents are attending – Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George Bush and Bill Clinton, with their wives.
• As is the custom at this solemn annual event, there are no speeches, even by a former or current president.

FREE: Remembering Judge + Resilience

September 6 & 11 – Firehouse DCTV in Chinatown, which specializes in documentaries, will screen premieres of two FDNY-related shorts covering different aspects of 9/11.

First is Remembering Judge, which looks at the life of FDNY chaplain Mychal Judge, the first confirmed victim of the attacks. Resilience, meanwhile, explores departmental responders who survived and have had to endure the effects of their efforts.

FREE: Day of Service  @ Intrepid Museum

September 8–11 – If you want to get actively involved in an annual service day in honor of 9/11, sign up for a shift aboard the Intrepid, supporting those who pack meals for the food insecure.

NYC Still Rising @ Madison Square Garden

September 10 –  Big names in comedy come to Madison Square Garden for this ticketed fundraiser benefiting 9/11 charities.

Among the headliners are Nikki Glaser and Pete Davidson, whose father, a New York City firefighter, died responding to the 9/11 attacks.

• click the link for ticket prices and seating choices.

FREE: Empty Chairs @ Bryant Park

FREE: 9/11 25th Anniversary Film Screening

Starting Sept. 11 – Join students and teachers from around the world to commemorate the 25th anniversary of 9/11 by registering for the FREE 9/11 Memorial & Museum Anniversary Digital Learning Experience.

This year’s program includes a 30-minute film, available on-demand, highlighting first-person accounts of the attacks and their aftermath, and a live chat with Museum staff throughout the day.

The film will be available beginning Friday, September 11, 2026. For the first time, it includes individual speaker videos, giving educators two ways to weave the Anniversary Digital Learning Experience into their lessons.

Tribute in Light

Tribute in Light is a commemorative public art installation first presented six months after 9/11 and then every year thereafter, from dusk to dawn, on the night of September 11.

It has become an iconic symbol that both honors those killed and celebrates the unbreakable spirit of New York.

Some interesting facts about the Tribute in Light –

• The lights are assembled on the roof of the Battery Parking Garage south of the 9/11 Memorial⁠
• The beams reach up to four miles into the sky and comprise eighty-eight 7,000-watt xenon lightbulbs positioned into two 48-foot squares, echoing the shape and orientation of the Twin Towers⁠.
• The installation can be seen up to 60 miles away⁠.

FREE: Table of Silence Project 9/11 at Lincoln Center

Sept. 11 at 8am – Dancers honors 9/11 with this annual silent tribute.

More than 150 white-robed dancers slowly ascend onto Josie Robertson Plaza at Lincoln Center to the sound of a conch shell’s call to action. Daniel Bernard Roumain performs a prologue on electric violin.

The Table of Silence event has been held annual the last few years and can be viewed in person or online.

• General Admission, first-come first-served.
• The event also is streamed live for free on this web page.

FREE: Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn

This is the final resting place for more than 100 people who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, and in the years that followed.

In their remembrance, there is an annual gathering on one of Green-Wood’s hills overlooking the Manhattan skyline to witness the tribute lights over lower Manhattan, to share words of remembrance, and to read the names of 9/11 victims memorialized at Green-Wood. Music will anchor and guide us through the evening from sunset onward.

• NOTES OF TRIBUTE: VIEWING THE 9/11 MEMORIAL LIGHTS begins on Friday, September 11, at 7:00pm
• FREE, but registration is recommended.

St. John the Divine Film Screening

September 11 – This new documentary, 9/11: Reclaiming Ground Zero, concentrates on how the public was involved in planning the redevelopment of the World Trade Center area.

• 6:30 to 8:30PM.  Registration is required for admission.
• Cathedral of St. John the Divine is at Amsterdam Ave. and 112th St.

About the World Trade Center & 9/11 Site

The World Trade Center redefined the city’s skyline and helped develop modern New York.

The 9/11 Museum is currently open six days a week, 9am to 7pm (plus select Tuesdays). Explore at your own pace, and plan to spend at least 45-90 minutes. Bring tissues.  Some exhibits are not appropriate for very young children.

• The 9/11 Museum is adjacent to the FREE  9/11 Memorial Plaza, with the famous waterfalls.  That is open to the public 8am to 8pm daily.
• The museum is not free.  Tickets for the 9/11 Museum can be purchased here up to six months in advance. 
• NOTE – both the 9/11 Museum and 9/11 Memorial Plaza are closed to the public until 3pm on Sept. 11 for the annual commemoration ceremonies for families, first responders and other invited guests.
• The museum invites everyone to participate in an annual event by taking a photo of the sky, wherever you are.  This September 11th, participate in the annual #RemembertheSky digital commemoration from wherever you are: snap a photo of the sky above you to acknowledge that the same big sky connects us all.

September 10th –

The 9/11 Museum is closed to the public from 3pm to 7pm, reserved exclusively for 9/11 and 2/26/1993 family members, family members of individuals who are sick or who have died from 9/11-related illnesses and injuries, 9/11 rescue and recovery workers, first responders, 9/11 and 1993 survivors, active duty military and veterans, lower Manhattan residents and business owners, and active and retired flight crew members.

• FREE, but you must reserve tickets in advance: https://ow.ly/fh4k50TeiUg
• Partner organizations will be on hand to share available resources and information, including  in the Museum’s Concourse Lobby, including the Victim Compensation Fund, Stars of HOPE, World Trade Center Health Program, 9/11 Environmental Action, First Responders Children’s Foundation, Voices Center.

“Ever Present” Origami  Exhibit at Trinity Church

Through Sept. 30 -Trinity Church survived intact just blocks from the destruction, and became a refuge for First Responders as a place to eat and even sleep.  It is  commemorating 9/11 with a large-scale origami installation at St. Paul’s Chapel.