UK Honours Holocaust Memorial Day 2021 with Nationwide Moment of Light

Ocean Outdoor digital screens across the UK joined a national moment to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day 2021 on January 27th.

Organised by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, households across the UK were asked to light candles and place them in their windows to remember the victims of genocide and unite against prejudice.

The theme of Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) 2021 was ‘Be the light in the darkness’.

Ocean screens in 13 cities turned the colour purple as part of the campaign, joining more than 25 other national landmarks, museums and castles including Tower Bridge, the London Eye, Blackpool Tower and The Lowry, Manchester.

The outdoor campaign broke on January 24th to support the lead up to the day itself. The out of home campaign was created in-house by the Trust.

Olivia Marks-Woldman OBE, chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said: “As with everything else, we’ve had to change how we mark Holocaust Memorial Day this year. Our priority was to keep contributors, especially Holocaust survivors, safe.

“We are so grateful to everyone who made HMD happen this year: the government, celebrity readers, landmarks and billboards that lit up in purple – and to people across the UK who put candles in their windows. It has enabled everyone – despite the pandemic – to learn from genocide for a better future.” 

For the first time in the history of HMD, the UK Commemorative Ceremony was held online, with thousands of people logging in to watch from their homes.