Stephen Evans
Former BBC's North America business correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Stephen Evans was waiting for a meeting on the ground floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center when the first plane hit the North Tower. Here, he recalls the“spirit of togetherness” felt in the city in the aftermath of the attack.

I was on the ground floor of the South Tower when the North Tower was hit. Even today, a certain kind of metallic crunch makes me flinch.

What strikes me now is the transformation: the days after September 11, 2001 felt like a different America from the one I read about now. New York City felt noble in its unity - it's a strange word to use, but the way people came together made me feel better about humanity.

The two planes going into the two landmarks dominating the city felt like an attack on all of us. People soon gathered in their thousands, silently with candles, in Union Square. Mayor Giuliani seemed like a leader who led us all. "I want the people of New York to be an example to the rest of the country, and the rest of the world, that terrorism can't stop us," got it exactly right.

A few days after the attacks, the Stars and Stripes was everywhere, including in a Middle Eastern bakery near where I lived in the East Village. People across the political spectrum felt the flag was theirs.

I remember that spirit of togetherness: sharing a taxi away from Ground Zero with a Chinese-American who was trying to get to a hospital because she was going into labour. She gave me her husband's phone number so I could tell him she was OK.

Image source, Getty Images

Terry Strada's son, the youngest of three, was just four days old when her husband Tom was killed on 11 September 2001.

Strada, national chair of 9/11 Families United, earlier told Radio 4's Today programme she received a phone call from her husband - at work on the 104th floor of the North Tower - after the first plane hit.

"He sounded very frantic" and "everyone was screaming" in the background, she said. They exchanged "goodbyes and I love yous" but Strada didn't know it would be the last time she would ever speak to Tom.

But when she saw the second plane hit the South Tower on TV, she understood what was happening: "I knew that there was no way he was going to get out."

She describes the moment the North Tower fell as "probably the most horrific part of the day, knowing he was in there and knowing he was gone".

Asked about the work she has done since with the coalition of families - which is calling for answers to unresolved questions about the attacks - she says she doesn't look at herself as "brave" but "just needed to know" the answers.

Pratiksha Ghildial
Reporting from Manhattan

As dawn breaks over New York, here are some photos from around the 9/11 memorial in downtown Manhattan - where security preparations are under way.

The families of the victims will start gathering here shortly.

Among those expected to attend are Vice-President JD Vance, and former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Yvonne Richards, director of the charity Since 9/11, says it is important to find a way for young people in school today to have an understanding of 9/11, given they have "no living memory" of it.

She calls it an event that "changed the world that we live in".

The charity speaks to young people about the consequences of the attack - including "how it continues to impact lives".

Richards points out that people are still dying from "toxic-related diseases". The disaster is "not something that finished in 2001," she says.

Young people are at risk of losing the "human stories behind those events" when they see footage online, she adds. The charity encourages them to "critically engage" with what they see - including identifying content that promotes conspiracy theories or dehumanises the event.

Nick Johnson
Reporting from Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Image source, Nick Johnson/BBC

Among the guests at today’s event in London is Liam McKenna, who was 15 and home from school in Hull on 11 September 2001 when he watched the events in the United States unfold on TV.

His mum then told him: “Your Uncle Michael works in that building."

Liam says that “in a cruel twist of fate", his uncle’s sister Christine was in New York visiting from Canada that day. Both Michael and Christine were killed.

He says the events of 9/11, which initially felt so far away, then arrived in his family’s living room.

He describes how important it is for him and his family not only to never forget what happened that day - but also to ensure future generations learn about the events of 25 years ago.

Image source, PA Media

On the other side of London, US Ambassador Warren Stephens was pictured laying a wreath in Grosvenor Square at the 9/11 Memorial Garden, alongside his wife Harriet.

"Harriet and I want to pay our respects to the 67 UK citizens who were killed on 9/11 25 years ago," he has said.

He added it is "hard to believe" 25 years have passed and "still hard to believe what happened".

He describes the attacks as "a tragedy none of us will ever forget".

Nick Johnson
Reporting from Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Image source, Nick Johnson/BBC

In the shadow of a twisted piece of steel salvaged from the ruins of the World Trade Center, an audience of families, first responders and schoolchildren gather in London’s Olympic Park to commemorate what happened of 25 years ago.

While the events of 9/11 unfolded thousands of miles away, lives around the globe continue to be shaped by what happened.

At least a third of the people at today’s event were either not born, or too young to remember the events of 11 September 2001.

The enduring message from today’s commemoration: Ensuring those who have no memory of 9/11 are properly educated about those tragic events and their ongoing ramifications.

A memorial event is due to start in London at 11:00 BST. That's taking place at the 9/11 memorial sculpture in London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

We'll bring you pictures and updates once that's under way.

Separately, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are expected to take the Royal Salute on the Buckingham Palace forecourt on behalf of the King, accompanied by US Ambassador Warren Stephens.

Later, memorial events will begin in the US including a special ceremony at the World Trade Center.

Amy Oakden and Seb Cheer
BBC Tees and BBC Yorkshire

Image source, PAUL BERRIFF

Warning: This story contains graphic details of the aftermath from the 9/11 attacks.

Twenty-five years on from 9/11, Paul Berriff is still feeling its impact.

The photographer and documentary filmmaker has become one of thousands of survivors to be diagnosed with terminal illnesses connected with the long-term effects of that day.

Now aged 80 and living near Northallerton in North Yorkshire, Berriff recalls being left unconscious for approximately 35 minutes, during which time the second tower also collapsed.

After regaining consciousness, Berriff said his "mouth was full of all this cement gunge stuff".

"I could hardly breathe. I was hot, I was sweating, my trousers were burning. Total blackness, I've never seen blackness like it."

"All of us that escaped that day thought we'd done well, then about three or four years ago, we started developing these illnesses," he said.

"All of us had ingested the cloud which contained body parts, glass, aviation fuel, you name it. It had laid dormant for 20 years and we've all developed these fatal diseases."

He was diagnosed three years ago with pulmonary fibrosis.

"My consultant said I've only got five years to live," he said.

• Read Berriff's full recollection of his experience at the epicentre of 9/11

Madeline Halpert and Kayla Epstein
Reporting from New York City

Image source, Getty Images

Toxic air quality was being recorded in Manhattan soon after the 9/11 attacks even as officials played down health risks to the public, according to a trove of newly released files.

Asbestos was found "nearly everywhere" tested near Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center towers collapsed in 2001, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said earlier this week.

"People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air," he said, announcing the release of 170,000 documents related to the attacks.

Illnesses related to dust and smoke from the towers' collapse have since claimed more than threefold the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the attacks, US health officials say.

The records show asbestos was found near Ground Zero for months after the attacks at the same time people were being advised it was safe to go there.

The files, which include air-quality reports and communications among city officials, include October 2001 correspondence known as the "Harding Memo".

Read more of our reporting on it here: New Yorkers were 'lied' to about toxic air after 9/11 attacks, says Mamdani

Every year on 11 September, bells ring to commemorate the exact time that each of the four planes crashed, and the exact time that the Twin Towers fell.

Each of the six bells is followed by a moment of silence.

This year, a seventh bell will ring. Its purpose is to commemorate the thousands who died from diseases including cancer after the attacks.

Illnesses related to dust and smoke from the towers' collapse have since claimed more than threefold the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the attacks, US health officials say.

“As the years pass and the human toll grows, we reckon with the cost of September 11th whenever another New Yorker is stolen from us too soon,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said. “Now, close to 25 years later, more people have died from 9/11-related illnesses than were killed on the day itself.”

Image source, Getty Images

US Vice-President JD Vance has arrived in New York, ahead a day of commemorative services to remember the victims of 9/11.

His arrival comes hours before the first moment of silence is expected to take place at 08:46 ET (13:46 BST) - which marks the moment the first plane hit the World Trade Center's North Tower on 11 September 2001.

US President Donald Trump will not be in New York today, instead he will be hundreds of miles away at the Pentagon.

Trump is set to speak at the Pentagon's 9/11 Observance Ceremony later today.

All times are local to New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

07:59: American Airlines Flight 11 takes off from Boston for Los Angeles

08:14: United Airlines Flight 175 takes off from Boston for Los Angeles

08:20: American Airlines Flight 77 takes off from Dulles International Airport near Washington DC for Los Angeles

08:42: United Airlines Flight 93 takes off from Newark International Airport for San Francisco

08:46: American Airlines Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center

09:03: United Airlines Flight 175 crashes into the South Tower of the World Trade Center

09:37: American Airlines Flight 77 crashes into the western side of the Pentagon

09:59: The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses

10:03: United Airlines Flight 93 crashes into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew fight back against the hijackers

10:28: The North Tower of the World Trade Center collapses

17:20: World Trade Center Building 7 collapses after sustaining heavy fire and structural damage

Image source, Getty Images

We've just heard from Rabina Khan, a Liberal Democrat councillor for the Shadwell ward in Tower Hamlets, who remembers being deeply saddened by the senseless act of terror on 11 September, 2001.

"This is a day for those who lost people," she says as the world marks 25 years since the attacks.

She tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme that, on the day, she "also wondered what would happen for us as Muslims" as "the actions of terrorists were being associated with an entire faith".

"9/11 was a huge turning point for us," she says. "We were then being viewed through the lens of terrorism, national security".

She says it was ordinary Muslims who were "having to answer consistently about their faith, we were increasingly expected to condemn terrorism and sometimes almost have to prove we didn't belong to groups".

"There was a sense that condemnation was never enough," she adds.

Brendon Williams
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Wales' First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth covered the aftermath of 9/11 while working as a BBC journalist.

He was on holiday with his wife Llinos and their daughter, and was travelling from Vermont to meet his in-laws, who had flown from Wales to join them in New York.

After being reassured they were safe, he headed to New York City, bought a mobile phone, and reported on the terror attacks, "knowing that the world would likely never be the same again".

Although he had been to New York previously, he says: "I remember arriving and it being a distinctly different city.

"The smell, I remember still - the burning.

"This bold city, quieter. I remember the sense of shock, which was palpable on the streets of New York," he tells BBC-produced Newyddion S4C, external.

The first minister says much of the history of the last 25 years "stemmed from that event".

"The beginning of the 'war on terror', the tensions, Islamophobia, the way that geopolitics have been shaped."

He adds: "We've also learnt that cool heads are needed, even in those most horrific of circumstances."

Image source, BBC/Newyddion S4C.

Image source, PA Media

Scotland's First Minister John Swinney says that "Scotland stands with the United States" in remembering those who lost their lives 25 years ago.

He pays tribute to the courage of survivors, families and first responders who showed resilience "in the face of unimaginable tragedy".

The first minister has been speaking ahead of a service of remembrance at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh later.

Swinney adds: "These attacks shocked the world and affected communities across the globe, including here in Scotland.

"My thoughts are with all those whose lives were forever changed by that terrible day, especially the families and friends of those who lost their lives."

Image source, PA Media

Prime Minister Andy Burnham says "hatred and fear did not have the last word on 9/11".

Writing on X this morning, the 25th anniversary of the attacks, he pays tribute to "the nearly 3,000 people who were killed, including 67 Britons".

He says his thoughts are with those who lost friends and family members, adding: "Time may pass, but I know the grief is still felt just as deeply today."

He says "those who seek to destroy our way of life will never win", adding that he saw the "same defiance" in Manchester in the wake of two attacks there while he was mayor.

"I will never forget the messages of support and friendship from people across America who knew better than anyone the suffering of our city," he says.

Image source, Getty Images

The horrors of 9/11 will never leave me, writes Director General of MI5 Sir Ken McCallum in the Independent this morning., external

The head of the UK's domestic intelligence and security agency says it was apparent after the attacks that "al-Qaeda had to be not just taken on, but taken down".

The Islamist extremist network, while still a threat, now has capabilities that are "a fraction of 2001's" thanks to a "gargantuan multinational effort, powerfully spearheaded by the US", McCallum says writes.

He also notes that the MI5 in 2026 contends with "a threat landscape markedly different" than 25 years ago - but adds that the agency "seeks to bring the same unflinching resolve and willingness to adapt that carried us through the traumas of the 9/11 era".

He concludes: "We owe the victims of 9/11 - and those who will otherwise become the victims of tomorrow’s attack - something more than remembrance. We owe them preparation, resilience and the courage to adapt before the next shock arrives."

Brendon Williams
BBC News

Image source, Charles Wolf

Charles Wolf knew immediately that something was wrong when a plane flew low over his New York City apartment on a sunny morning 25 years ago.

Seconds later, the plane slammed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center - where his wife Katherine, from Swansea, was working.

Katherine died instantly, becoming one of 2,977 people killed in the al-Qaeda terrorist attacks on the USA on 11 September 2001.

"I knew instantly when it flew over my building - our apartment building - that it was a twin engine jet at full throttle," said Charles, a trained pilot. "I knew it so well that I called the FBI and told them... 'That was no accident, that was deliberate'."

A year later, when Charles met the FBI agent who took that call, he said the agent told him: "You were the first person to get us on to the fact that that was not an accident."

Charles subsequently led a campaign to ensure the victims' families and dependants were fairly compensated, and said his "wonderful" wife would be proud of what he fought for.

Unhappy with the US-government run September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, he successfully pressured the authorities into allocating funds more fairly and to more people.

His fight later became the subject of a Netflix movie called Worth, in which he was portrayed by the actor Stanley Tucci.

Warning: This post contains details that some may find distressing

Janice Brooks had only moved to New York a couple of weeks before 9/11 to begin what she calls "the biggest adventure of [her] life" - working for a company called Euro Brokers on the 84th floor of the South Tower.

On the morning of the attacks, she was in the office when she heard a bang and saw "paper and dust swirling" as the first plane hit the North Tower, she tells BBC Breakfast.

While she was evacuating, the second plane hit with an "almighty thud". Brooks heard "one of those horror film screams" as a woman was hit by debris, her eyes covered in blood.

She says the scream "lives in my head".

When she finally reached the ground floor and looked up at the building, there was a "big gaping hole" where her floor should have been.

Sixty-one people died in her office. "I only went to 23 funerals," Brooks says. "I should have tried harder, I’ll take it to my grave that I let them down."

She says she's given herself "one job" since that day: "To have a good life".