UK Commemorative Ceremony

Each year we organise the UK Commemorative Ceremony for Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD). This is the focal point of HMD in the UK and brings together the civic, faith and political leadership of the country, alongside survivors of the Holocaust and more recent genocides.

UK Commemorative Ceremony

The UK Commemorative Ceremony acts as a spotlight for all of the HMD activities in the UK. In addition, we help to ensure that key ceremonies take place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

At the Ceremony, we honour survivors of the Holocaust, Nazi Persecution, and the genocides which followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. At a national level, we remember all those who were murdered and resolve to learn lessons from the past to create a safer, better future.

Holocaust Memorial Day 2023

For HMD 2023 we held an Online Commemoration which was watched by people across the UK, as well as a small in-person UK Ceremony which was attended by survivors of the Holocaust and genocide and political and faith leaders.

The Online Commemoration was hosted by Kirsty Wark and included contributions from Sir David Suchet, survivors of the Holocaust and genocide, political and faith leaders, and people from across the UK.

The in-person Ceremony featured music and testimony; a message from the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak MP; and reflections from Michael Gove MP, Angela Rayner MP, Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis and The Archbishop of Canterbury.

Kirsty Wark hosted the Online Commemoration for HMD 2023

Read more about the 2023 UK Ceremony here.

Watch the Online Commemoration

As well as the UK Ceremony for HMD, ceremonies also took place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2023.

Previous years

To find out more about the national ceremonies which have been held in previous years, click on the links below. You can also explore a gallery of images from previous years at the bottom of the page.