Britain mourns Hillsborough disaster 20 years on

Thursday, April 16, 2009 at 9:41 PM Posted by Beijing News


Liverpool fans paid an emotional tribute to the victims of the Hillsborough disaster on Wednesday, the 20th anniversary of the tragedy in which 96 supporters were crushed to death.

Grieving families were joined by tens of thousands of sympathisers at Liverpool Football Club's Anfield ground to remember the victims of Britain's worst sporting disaster.

The tragedy was caused by massive overcrowding in the Leppings Lane end of Sheffield's Hillsborough stadium at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

For relatives, survivors and those present on the day, the anniversary has revived the heartache of the tragedy, in which helpless fans, fenced in, were crushed to death.

The Anfield service mixed sadness and remembrance with calls for justice and anger that nobody has been convicted over the disaster.

To ease overcrowding outside the Leppings Lane end, police opened an exit gate, allowing supporters to flood into the central pens.

People fell silent for two minutes across Liverpool, outside Hillsborough and in Nottingham's main square at 3:06 pm 1406 GMT, exactly 20 years on from the moment the match was abandoned as the scale of the horror began to unfold.

At Anfield, the names of the dead were read out, with a sombre bell tolling and a candle lit for each one.

Liverpool players past and present were among the congregation and messages of sympathy from Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Gordon Brown were conveyed.

"We will never forget what happened at Hillsborough 20 years ago," said the city's Lord Mayor Steve Rotheram, who in 1989 was a bricklayer attending the game.

"We salute the bravery of those Liverpool fans whose heroics helped save countless lives while those charged with ensuring our safety stood idly by and watched."

One song sung included the refrain: "For those who are to blame, hang your heads in shame. Only then will their spirits be free."

Culture Secretary minister Andy Burnham was interrupted by the crowd, who chanted "Justice for the 96."

The disaster "finally ushered in the end of an era when the treatment of supporters was poor and their safety an afterthought," he said.

"Hillsborough's permanent legacy is that young and old will forever be safer at matches but we grieve that it took a tragedy on this scale to bring that about."

Following the tragedy, Lord Justice Peter Taylor was commissioned to conduct an inquiry that would have a far-reaching impact on the game.

He was deeply critical of the police response at Hillsborough, but his most significant recommendations were the removal of perimeter fencing and the creation of all-seater stadiums.

"Time has gone by, but the scars will never, ever be healed and the fans will never, ever forget."



Dancers from Ensemble of the Turkish state opera and ballet perform the play "Rose Garden" during the Skopje Dance Festival. AFP/Robert Atanasovski

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