NEW YORK: New York will mark the first anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks with a sombre 102-minute ceremony at “ground zero” and a roll call of all 2,800 victims, officials said.

The duration of the ceremony — the centrepiece of day-long tributes across the city — marks the elapsed time between the first plane slamming into the World Trade Center and the collapse of the second 110-story twin tower.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the consensus had been for a day of observances “that are simple and powerful, and that honour the memories of those we lost that day”.

The municipal authorities received some 4,500 responses to their solicitation for public suggestions a month ago on how best to conduct the anniversary.

Sept 11, which falls on a Wednesday, will not be designated a public holiday, with schools and government offices remaining open.

“We will carry on our responsibilities to our families and our city. However, this will not be an ordinary day for anyone in New York,” Bloomberg told reporters.

The ceremony at Ground Zero will begin promptly at 8:46 am (12.46 GMT) — the moment the first of two hijacked airliners was flown into the north tower of the World Trade Center.

A moment’s silence will be followed by a reading of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address by New York State Governor George Pataki, after which former mayor Rudolph Giuliani will lead the roll call of the victims of the attack.

The ceremony, to include the reading of an excerpt from the US Declaration of Independence, will conclude at 10:29 (14.29 GMT), when bells will ring out across the city to mark the moment the WTC’s north tower collapsed.

The victims’ families will be invited to descend to the lowest level of the devastated World Trade Center site, where they will each deposit a rose.

President George W. Bush was scheduled to visit New York in the afternoon of the anniversary, although Bloomberg said his precise itinerary had yet to be finalised.—AFP