Liverpool has paid tribute to the 97 people who died in the Hillsborough disaster on the 35th anniversary of the tragedy. A minute’s silence was observed across the city at 3:06 pm BST, the exact time the FA cup semi-final football match was halted in 1989. A bell at the town hall tolled 97 times in memory of those who lost their lives in the stadium crush. Flags were flown at half-mast in civic buildings.
Liverpool FC players, staff, and officials laid wreaths at the Hillsborough memorial at Anfield stadium to pay their respects. Chairman Billy Hogan, Sir Kenny Dalglish, and the managers and captains of the club’s men’s and women’s teams also paid tributes alongside club ambassadors Ian Rush, John Barnes, and Natasha Dowie. A wreath laid by manager Jurgen Klopp and the team was accompanied by a message reading “Forever in our hearts, the 97 will never be forgotten.”
Ninety-seven balloons were released at Anfield and plans are in place for the town hall to be lit up in red in the evening. In an online statement, Liverpool FC said 15 April was “a significant and poignant date in the club’s history”. “One which brings LFC together in remembrance and thought to remember the 97 who lost their lives and to share love and support for their families, the survivors and all those impacted by the tragedy.”
In 2016, a jury concluded the victims were unlawfully killed and found the supporters did not contribute to their deaths. The families’ campaign was supported by the setting up of the Hillsborough Independent Panel, which helped to increase the public disclosure of information relating to the disaster. Professor Phil Scraton, the primary author of the panel’s report, said the tributes held on the anniversary would also remember “the suffering of hundreds of survivors, and the endurance of the bereaved, many of whom have died prematurely as a direct consequence of their loss”. However, he said: “It remains a stain on the justice process that no individual nor organization has been held accountable in a criminal court.
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