The Prince of Wales will pay tribute to Holocaust survivors and refugees in an online service streamed live tonight.
The Yom Hashoah service replaces cancelled plans for a large event for 10,000 people to mark 75 years since the end of the war, and the liberation of Bergen Belsen by the British.
More than 100 Jewish charities have combined to stage the live-streamed event.
The ceremony will include a pre-recorded video message from the Prince of Wales, a virtual children's choir and readings by Countdown presenter Rachel Riley, Judge Robert Rinder and actress Laura Pradelska, whose grandparents all survived the Holocaust.
Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl will give the introductory marks and read the Yad Vashem law 'We Commune' at the event which will be hosted by Henry Grunwald.
Other key speakers include the Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, Israeli Ambassador Mark Regev, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick, newly elected Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, Midlands Mayor Andy Street, Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Sadiq Khan, whose first ever public event as Mayor of London was the Yom Hashoah UK ceremony in 2016.
Neil Martin OBE, who chairs Yom Hashoah UK and is producing the event, said: “Holocaust survivors and refugees are of course right now isolating in their homes for their safety, and may well have believed that this year the community won’t be able to remember on Yom Hashoah, in what might sadly be for so many of them the last of the significant anniversaries.
"It was vital, despite the obstacles we face, and sadly the large number of coronavirus deaths hitting the Jewish community, that we do remember... but ‘virtually’, and we are truly honoured that the Prince of Wales has agreed to lead the tributes to the brave and inspiring survivors and refugees of our community.”
The ceremony will also be beamed directly into care homes, and volunteers are ensuring Holocaust survivors can watch or listen to the ceremony safely from their homes, with several survivors taking part in the live online commemoration.
The event expected to be viewed by over 200,000 people worldwide.
The ceremony begins at 7.30pm (with special messages from 7.15) and can be watched live or streamed after at www.yomhashoah.org.uk/LIVE.
