On the 17th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, two memorial ceremonies will take place in downtown Knoxville.


City of Knoxville and Knox County officials will host a short ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial located on the lawn of the City County Building at 400 Main Street.

The bells of First Baptist Church will toll at 8:46 a.m. to mark the time hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Retired KPD officer and current KPD Chaplain Gerald King will lead a prayer, followed by another tolling of the bells at 9:03 a.m., the time hijackers crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower. 

Ceremony participants will include relatives of Knoxvillians who died in the attacks.

A wreath will lie at the base of the memorial, a black granite obelisk made by Randy Vaden and installed in 2003.

Below is a video from CTV taken during the Sept. 11, 2018 Ceremony at the 9-11 Memorial.


Click here to view larger version of video


At the same time, the fifth annual Knoxville 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb will be held at the Sunsphere in the World’s Fair Park.

After an 8:30 a.m. ceremony including remarks from Mayor Madeline Rogero, and an 8:46 a.m. moment of silence, 343 first responders (firefighters, EMS, police, military and others trained as first responders) from Knoxville and surrounding counties will climb the equivalent of 110 stories in remembrance of the 343 New York City firefighters who died at the Twin Towers. 

Many climbers will wear full gear and carry equipment to replicate the experience of firefighters on that day. Each climber receives a badge bearing the name and photograph of one of those fallen FDNY firefighters.

Proceeds from the climb go to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. 

The public is welcome to attend and may bring chairs and blankets to observe the climb and encourage participants. 

For further information on the climb, visit http://www.knoxvillestairclimb.com.