Preston’s Holocaust Memorial Day Will Take Place Online This Year

Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations this year will be held online due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic with remembrance and tributes held in a different way.

The UK Ceremony for Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) will be streamed live for the first time at 7pm on 27 January 2021.

Households across the UK are being asked to join the ceremony and to:

• remember those who were murdered for who they were
• stand against prejudice and hatred today

Councillor Nweeda Khan, Cabinet member for communities and social justice, said:

“In these unprecedented times, communities coming together can show the very best of humanity and what we’re capable of. Unfortunately, there’s also still an element of hatred and abuse in society, which we must stand up to.

“The theme ‘be the light in the darkness’ is a declaration and a call to action for everyone marking Holocaust Memorial Day. It asks everyone to consider different kinds of ‘darkness’, and different ways of ‘being the light’, for example, calling out prejudice and challenging mistruths.

“We call on everyone across Preston to remember these atrocities and the lives lost by watching the live stream event, collectively in remembrance.”

Jeremy Dable, a member of Preston’s Jewish community, asks:

“Be a light in the darkness for yourself and for others to see the world around you so that you may do justice, love mercy, and repair the world.”

More information

• Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT) encourages remembrance in a world scarred by genocide. We promote and support Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) – the international day on 27 January to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, alongside the millions of other people killed under Nazi Persecution and in genocides that followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
• To commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day in 2021 the Harris and Market Hall will be lit purple and the Union flag on the Town Hall roof will be flown at half-mast.
• Preston City Council actively applies and prioritises the principles of Community Wealth Building wherever applicable and appropriate. Community Wealth Building is an approach which aims to ensure the economic system builds wealth and prosperity for everyone.