September 11 Attacks — 25th Anniversary

What this countdown tracks

The 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, commemorated on Friday 11 September 2026 in the United States and worldwide. The day will mark a quarter century since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and United Airlines Flight 93, an event that killed 2,977 people and reshaped American foreign policy, intelligence, aviation, immigration and homeland-security policy for a generation.

About this anniversary

On the morning of Tuesday 11 September 2001, 19 al-Qaeda hijackers seized four transcontinental US airliners. American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46 am ET. United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower at 9:03 am. American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon at 9:37 am. United Airlines Flight 93 — its passengers having learned of the other attacks — was forced down by them in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania at 10:03 am. The South Tower fell at 9:59 am; the North Tower at 10:28 am; 7 World Trade Center collapsed later that afternoon. The day's death toll of 2,977 includes 343 New York City firefighters, 60 Port Authority and NYPD officers, and citizens of more than 90 countries.

The US response inaugurated the post-9/11 era: the USA PATRIOT Act on 26 October 2001, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in November 2002, the Transportation Security Administration, the Director of National Intelligence and the National Counterterrorism Center under the 2004 IRTPA, and the Authorization for Use of Military Force that under-girded operations in Afghanistan from October 2001 and Iraq from March 2003. Osama bin Laden was killed by US Navy SEALs in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on 2 May 2011. The 9/11 Memorial and Museum at Ground Zero, the Pentagon Memorial, and the Flight 93 National Memorial all opened in the years that followed.

A 25th-round-number anniversary brings together surviving family members, first responders, the city of New York and the federal government for the most significant commemoration since the 10th anniversary in 2011. The "Tribute in Light" twin beams over Lower Manhattan are scheduled to return; the National September 11 Memorial reads each victim's name aloud, with six moments of silence at the times of the four impacts and the two tower collapses; the Pentagon and Shanksville hold parallel ceremonies. Survivors who were children in 2001 are now in their late twenties and thirties; the surviving adult cohort of FDNY and NYPD responders is shrinking as 9/11-related illnesses (now exceeding the day's direct death toll among first responders) continue to claim lives. The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, reauthorised in 2019, funds care for the responder community.

What to expect

Expect dual ceremonies in Manhattan, Arlington and Shanksville, with US presidential attendance customary at one of the three sites. Family-led name-readings are the centrepiece of the New York commemoration. Major broadcast networks anchor extended coverage; Anderson Cooper, Lester Holt and Norah O'Donnell are typical anchors. Documentaries and retrospectives are expected from National Geographic, Netflix, HBO, the BBC and Smithsonian Channel. President's Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships convenes interfaith services. New York City's MTA traditionally adjusts service near Lower Manhattan; the Tribute in Light shines from 6 pm 11 September through dawn 12 September. The 25-year window also coincides with the National Archives' planned NARA 25-year automatic-declassification of pre-9/11-era classified records under Executive Order 13526.

Past anniversaries

• 20th anniversary (2021) — Presidents Biden, Obama and Clinton attended in New York; the post-Afghanistan-withdrawal context shaped the day.
• 15th anniversary (2016) — Hillary Clinton famously left the New York ceremony due to pneumonia during the campaign.
• 10th anniversary (2011) — President Obama and former President Bush attended; the new 9/11 Memorial dedicated.
• 5th anniversary (2006) — President Bush at all three sites; the cornerstone of the Freedom Tower laid.
• 1st anniversary (2002) — President Bush at the Pentagon; family members read names at Ground Zero for the first time.

How to follow

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum (911memorial.org) publishes the schedule of the New York ceremony, broadcast on NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and PBS NewsHour. The Pentagon's commemoration is administered by the Department of Defense; the Flight 93 ceremony by the National Park Service. The "Tribute in Light" is operated by the Municipal Art Society and Con Edison. The 9/11 Tribute Museum, the FDNY 9/11 Memorial Wall at Ten House, the New York City Fire Museum, and the Empire State Building's blue tribute lighting all participate in the day.

Related countdowns

Track the 9/11 25th anniversary alongside the NARA 25-year auto-declassification of 2001 records and the NARA 2002-records release, the formal release of pre-9/11-era and post-9/11-era classified records. The American calendar continues with the US 250th anniversary semiquincentennial and the US midterm elections 2026. Other major commemorations the same year include the Pearl Harbor 85th anniversary 2026 countdown.

FAQ

When is the 9/11 25th anniversary? Friday 11 September 2026. Where are the commemorations held? At the National September 11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan, the Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, and the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Why does the 25th anniversary matter? It is the largest round-number commemoration since the 2011 tenth anniversary, with surviving family, responders and a generation that has now lived more time after 9/11 than before it. How many people died on 9/11? 2,977 victims on 11 September 2001, plus thousands more among first responders and downtown residents from 9/11-related illnesses in the years since.