For the first time, ABC will broadcast the annual Sept. 11 commemoration in New York live as part of the 25th anniversary marking the 2001 terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people at the World Trade Center in Manhattan, the Pentagon in Virginia and in Shanksville, Pa.
The special, titled "9/11 Tribute in Light: Live From Lower Manhattan," will air at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, Disney+, Hulu, National Geographic, ABC-owned TV stations, livestreams and ABC News Live, produced in partnership with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
The broadcast will feature performances from Five For Fighting's John Ondrasik and country singer Lainey Wilson, both performing live from the base of the Tribute in Light's twin beams. Cyndi Lauper was added to the lineup on Tuesday, Sept. 8, and will also perform from the site alongside Ondrasik and Wilson.
"The courage, bravery, and heroism displayed in response to 9/11 is a reminder of who we are as Americans and the strength and compassion we show one another at our most difficult moments," Wilson said in a statement. "I'm honored to lend my voice to this moment, and to recognize the first responders, families, and communities whose service and sacrifice continue to inspire us 25 years later."
Lauper reflected on the anniversary in her own statement: "I'm grateful to be a part of the 9/11 Tribute in Light. It's hard to believe that it's been 25 years. Like so many of us, I feel like it was just yesterday. I was outside the city that morning and desperate to get back to my family, a luxury that, sadly, a lot of people were not afforded. I am honored to sing for them, those that we lost, and the families and friends who remain, and for my city. We will never forget."
The Tribute in Light installation has illuminated the New York skyline every Sept. 11 since 2002, sending two white beams four miles into the sky in a formation echoing the Twin Towers, visible within a 60-mile radius of Lower Manhattan.
The broadcast will be hosted live from New York by "World News Tonight" anchor David Muir, "Good Morning America" co-anchor Robin Roberts, anchor Diane Sawyer, and WABC anchors Linsey Davis, Sade Baderinwa and Mike Marza.
Ondrasik will perform his song "Superman (It's Not Easy)," which was released two weeks before the 2001 attacks and later peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 that December, becoming closely associated with the tragedy's aftermath. "I am honored to perform 'Superman' for this moment. Though a quarter century has passed, we will never forget the heroes who selflessly ran into the burning twin towers to save their fellow Americans," Ondrasik said. "Their courage, fortitude, and sacrifice will forever embody the very best of our nation."
Ondrasik previously performed the song at the 2001 Concert For New York City benefit at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20 of that year, a show that also featured David Bowie, Bon Jovi, Jay-Z, the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the Goo Goo Dolls, Billy Joel, James Taylor, Destiny's Child, John Mellencamp, The Who, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Paul McCartney and the Backstreet Boys, among others.
Photo: Ben Childers, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
