In New York, the Twin Towers were recreated in natural size using 2977 drones — corresponding to the number of victims of the September 11 terrorist attack
On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, a light memorial event was held over New York Harbor. Almost three thousand drones formed silhouettes of the destroyed World Trade Center skyscrapers in their original scale in the night sky.
The event titled "2977 Lights Over New York Harbor" took place on September 9, 2026. The number of drones used precisely matches the official number of victims of the 2001 terrorist attack.
As reported by CBS News, the light show consisted of two 15-minute sessions. During the flight, the drones first formed a spiral in the sky, which gradually transformed into the outlines of the two towers. The event was accompanied by the broadcast of works by composers Philip Glass, John Adams, and Max Richter.
The project was developed in dialogue with the annual Tribute in Light initiative, which projects two powerful beams of light into the sky. However, unlike the continuous beams, the new installation focuses on individual points, each symbolizing one lost life.
The spiral figure that the drones created before forming the towers is a direct reference to the unfulfilled project of the World Cultural Center. This concept, in the form of open lattice structures, was proposed by the THINK architectural team (Shigeru Ban, Rafael Viñoly, and David Rockwell) during the competition for the reconstruction of the Ground Zero site immediately after the attacks.
The production of the show was handled by Sky Elements company under the direction of creative director Addison Mera. Artistic consultants included Studio Drift and architects Shigeru Ban and Dean Maltz.
Relatives of the deceased, survivors, and former employees of New York's rescue and fire services were also involved in the development of the installation.
The project's funding was provided by private charitable foundations with the support of the New York Foundation for the Arts. The organizers emphasize that
25 years after the tragedy, approximately 100 million Americans have no personal memories of September 11, so the visualization of the scale of losses using modern technologies is primarily aimed at the younger generation.
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