Titanic Memorial Commemorations Around the World

by Matthew Gillies

RMS Titanic departing Southampton on 10 April 1912.

Marking the 100th anniversary of the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic and her ill-fated tragedy, the world has taken to commemorating the historical disaster with tributes, exhibits, memorials and interactive events to honor the single most historical peacetime maritime disaster in the world.

In Canada, Halifax’s Maritime Museum of the Atlantic will be opening a special exhibit about the cabe ships and their crew, and how they used trans-Atlantic undersea cables to communicate with the sinking ship with their Cable Ships: Connecting Halifax to Titanic and the World beginning April 12, 2012.

But that’s not all the Halifax Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is offering. On April 14, 2012, the museum will also include a candle-lit procession by water which will make its way from the museum to the Grand Parade, passing some of the city’s Titanic related landmarks along the way, before presentations and live performances take place. At 12:20 a.m., the time when the Titanic began to sink, a moment of silence will be held, with flares being set off to symbolize the ship’s call for help.

Following the Night of the Bells, Halifax’s Fairview Lawn Cemetery will hold an interfaith memorial service in remembrance of the lives lost in the Titanic tragedy and for the 121 Titanic victims buried at the cemetery, followed by a wreath-laying and musical performance on April 15, 2012.

The commemorations don’t end just in Canada. In fact, Belfast, Northern Ireland recently opened the Titanic Belfast memorial museum, constructed on the old shipyards where the Titanic was built. Visitors to the museum will be given an opportunity to visit nine exhibits of interactive media, showcasing the history of the fated ship from rivets to requiem.

Meanwhile, Branson, Missouri’s Museum Titanic Branson will be hosting a special musical tribute on April 14 to mark the night the Titanic sank. Visitors will also be able to tour the museum to see exact replica of the Titanic’s grand staircase, sit in a scale life boat and hear the stories of passengers through interactive media.

Likewise, the Titanic Pigeon Forge Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee can learn of the history of the Titanic and the fates of the passengers as they travel through the exhibits.

In the UK, the SeaCity Museum of Southampton will be opening a new Titanic exhibit on April 10, commemorating the day the Titanic set sail from its harbour, and will allow visitors to explore a 1:25 scale model of the ship, experience a Disaster Room and learn about the thousands of people that departed from the city to board the Titanic.

However, the most luxurious of commemorations will take place on sea, with two cruise ships beginning with the Memorial Cruise in Southampton, UK, which will depart April 8 and sail across the Atlantic taking the same path the Titanic took on its fateful journey until reaching the wreck site, where a memorial will be held on April 15 at 2:20 a.m..

Similarly, a New York Anniversary cruise will depart on April 10, following the route the Titanic would have taken in reverse. With a stop in Halifax, the cruise will reach the site of the Titanic on April 14 to hold its own memorial ceremony before setting sail back to New York.

Read more:

Titanic Branson

Titanic Memorial Cruise

Titanic Anniversary Cruise

Cable Ships: Connecting Halifax to Titanic and the World | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic

Titanic 2012 | NovaScotia.com

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