7:36pm UK, Wednesday April 15, 2009Thousands of people have joined the families of 96 Liverpool fans killed in the Hillsborough tragedy to mark the 20th anniversary of their deaths.
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A memorial service was held at the club's home ground, Anfield, where a member of each victim's family received the Freedom of Liverpool.
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A two-minute silence was held at 3.06pm and the city's transport system came to a stop.
Afterwards the bells of the city's two cathedrals and its civic buildings rang out 96 times.
Hundreds of floral tributes, scarves and football shirts were laid outside the Hillsborough memorial and tied to the Shankly Gates in Anfield Road.
A two-minute silence was held at 3.06pm and the city's transport system came to a stop.
Afterwards the bells of the city's two cathedrals and its civic buildings rang out 96 times.
Hundreds of floral tributes, scarves and football shirts were laid outside the Hillsborough memorial and tied to the Shankly Gates in Anfield Road.
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The service was opened by the Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Rev James Jones, who read out a message of sympathy from the Queen.
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He told the crowd of 30,000: "Those we lost (are) always in our minds. Never a day passes without a thought of what their tomorrow might have been."
Kenny Dalglish, who was Liverpool's manager when the disaster took place, read from the Bible, Lamentations of Jeremiah.
He told the crowd of 30,000: "Those we lost (are) always in our minds. Never a day passes without a thought of what their tomorrow might have been."
Kenny Dalglish, who was Liverpool's manager when the disaster took place, read from the Bible, Lamentations of Jeremiah.
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The second reading, from the Letter of St Paul to the Romans, was given by Margaret Aspinall, vice-chairwoman of the Hillsborough Families Support Group.
The second reading, from the Letter of St Paul to the Romans, was given by Margaret Aspinall, vice-chairwoman of the Hillsborough Families Support Group.
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Culture Secretary Andy Burnham was repeatedly booed and jeered when he addressed the crowd in a "last minute" addition to the order of service.
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Trevor Hicks, a former chairman of the Families Group, said: "If ever the Government needed proof of our determination to get justice for the 96, they just have to look around this stadium today."
Trevor Hicks, a former chairman of the Families Group, said: "If ever the Government needed proof of our determination to get justice for the 96, they just have to look around this stadium today."
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Liverpool players Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher then presented Freedom Scrolls to Mr Hicks and a representative of each of the families.
Liverpool players Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher then presented Freedom Scrolls to Mr Hicks and a representative of each of the families.
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The service ended with Gerry Marsden performing his hit single and famous Liverpool anthem, You'll Never Walk Alone, as 96 balloons were released into the sky.
The service ended with Gerry Marsden performing his hit single and famous Liverpool anthem, You'll Never Walk Alone, as 96 balloons were released into the sky.
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between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool was stopped as the crowd spilled onto the pitch.
Desperate fans climbed over safety fences, trying to escape the crush on an overcrowded terrace at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium.
Desperate fans climbed over safety fences, trying to escape the crush on an overcrowded terrace at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium.
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Sheffield marked the anniversary of the disaster quietly. After talks with the Liverpool families' organisations, it was decided not to hold a formal ceremony at the ground.
Sheffield marked the anniversary of the disaster quietly. After talks with the Liverpool families' organisations, it was decided not to hold a formal ceremony at the ground.
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The Leppings Lane end, where the fans died, was opened up to visitors, though, and a a two-minute silence was observed in Nottingham's Old Market Square.
The Leppings Lane end, where the fans died, was opened up to visitors, though, and a a two-minute silence was observed in Nottingham's Old Market Square.
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