A virtual memorial will be in place for Holocaust Memorial Day this year, Stevenage Borough Council has announced.

The council is encouraging residents to come together online at 11am on Wednesday, January 27 to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, alongside the millions of other people killed under Nazi persecution and during genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Darfur and elsewhere.

A video of town mayor Jim Brown, Sharon Taylor, Stephen McPartland MP, youth mayor Alissa Crew, Terry Wolfe and HM Lord Lieutenant of Herts, Robert Voss, will be played on SBC's YouTube and Facebook accounts.

This year’s theme is ‘Light the Darkness’ and residents are encouraged to display a lit candle in their window at 8pm on January 27 – if safe to do so – to remember those who were murdered for who they were and to make a stand against prejudice and hatred today.

Cllr Jim Brown, said: “It’s important that we mark Holocaust Memorial Day despite the challenges we face from the pandemic – which is why we’re asking everyone to come together virtually.

"Together we will remember all those who suffered in the holocaust and in other genocides that have taken place across the world, as we continue to try and create a world where the phrase ‘Never again’ means what it says.”