Sunday, August 21, 2011

2011 Norway shooting and bombing attacks national ceremony

On Sunday, Norway holds a national ceremony in remembrance to the 77 victims of the 2011 Norway shooting and bombing attacks.

Anders Behring Breivik, a Norwegian right-wing extremist and the confessed perpetrator of the 2011 Norway shooting incident on the island of Utøya where he killed 69 people and the bombing of government buildings in Oslo that resulted in eight deaths.

The ceremony will place at an Oslo convert hall at 1300 GMT where King Harald and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg are to conduct their speeches. While, pop band a-ha and other Norwegian artist are also going to perform.



"It will be good for people to have a final, national memorial -- for now," said 21-year-old Adrian Pracon, who was shot by Breivik on Utoeya island but survived.

"It will never be really final because we will be reminded of what happened every day, every year," he told Reuters. "But right now this could maybe close up this whole thing and maybe let us, as participants, say 'we are now moving on'. We need to move on."

Pracon was one of a group of survivors and their relatives who returned to the sites of the attacks for the first time on Saturday.

About 6,000 people are expected to attend Sunday's ceremony, including relatives of the victims, survivors, police and emergency personnel who dealt with the attacks.

The Norwegian royal family, the presidents of Finland and Iceland, Swedish Crown Princess Victoria and Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik are expected to attend too.

Before the concert, the Norwegian royal family and some government ministers will also lay flowers at Oslo cathedral.

Meanwhile, the names of the victims of the attacks will be read by five prominent Norwegian actors.

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