The UK is holding its inaugural ceremony on the first national day dedicated to the victims and survivors of terrorism.

We're expecting to hear tributes and reflections from a range of victims, family members, survivors and emergency service workers.

We'll bring you all the key testimony - you can also follow along by tapping watch live at the top of the page.

• The ceremony may include content that some viewers find distressing. If you're affected by any of the issues in this page then support and help is available at BBC Action Line

We are expecting this afternoon's ceremony to begin shortly.

It had been due to start at 14:30 BST but there appears to have been a slight delay.

Stay with us as we wait for it to get under way. You'll be able to watch the ceremony at the top of the page - just press watch live.

Image source, PA Media

Some politicians have been paying tribute to victims and survivors ahead of today's event.

• Prime Minister Andy Burnham says he is "proud" the UK now has a national day to honour victims and survivors of terrorism. "Today matters because it says you are not alone. You have not been forgotten"
• Mayor of London Sadiq Khan posts on X that "London stands with you and your loved ones," adding: "We will not be divided by hatred and cowardice"
• Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel says "we must continue to honour the memories of those who have been affected by terrorism by reflecting on their experiences and doing more to support survivors and families"
• Conservative MP Alicia Kearns writes that "far too many have suffered at the hands of terrorists". "Today we reflect on the memories stolen, the bravery and stoicism of survivors, and stand firm in rejecting violence and hatred," she adds
• Northern Ireland Secretary of State Chris Bryant says "few places have borne more pain than Northern Ireland, where the prolonged and painful legacy of the Troubles and subsequent acts of paramilitary terrorism has inflicted deep wounds across generations".

Thelma Stober was one of the hundreds of people impacted by the London bombings of 7 July 2005, in which she lost a leg.

She says today is "for people to remember that we are innocent victims of an attack which was intended to be against the democractic values which we stand for".

Stober, who works as a lawyer, has previously spoken about having to push for compensation.

But the fight hasn't only been about financial support, she says.

"I remember saying to CICA (Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority) 'give me the prosthetic limb I need' because I was given a white foot, even though I'm brown-skinned.

"So financial support is not just the only support, it's the medical support that people need, people like myself and many others. I'm just one person and it's not about me, it's about the entire community."

Naomi Holland
BBC Northern Ireland

Claire Hayes is among those from Northern Ireland who are making the journey to London to attend the memorial event, which is expected to begin at 14:30 BST.

Her brother Alan Radford was just 16 when he was killed in the Omagh bombing in August 1998.

Twenty-nine people, including a woman who was pregnant with twins, were killed in the Real IRA attack.

Hayes says the UK-wide event is a "monumental day".

"It's been very welcomed that Alan is no longer just a statistic, that he is being recognised, that he was a human being, who was here, who was murdered and his life mattered."

She also says there are questions about why Stormont has not done something similar.

"They like to try and cleanse what has happened in Northern Ireland and I think this is going to be another pushing point for them that they really don't want to."

Mary McCool
BBC Scotland

Image source, Bryn Colton/Getty Images

While taking place in London, today's ceremony will also be broadcast live at a church in Lockerbie – the site of the deadliest terror attack on UK soil.

On 21 December 1988, Pam Am Flight 103 was destroyed by a bomb over Dumfries and Galloway, killing all 259 passengers and crew.

Another 11 people died when the plane wreckage fell on their homes in Lockerbie.

Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, from Libya, is due to go on trial in the US next week, accused of making and priming the bomb.

The Lockerbie Memorial Church Museum, which was established to honour those who lost their lives, will screen today’s ceremony.

It is expected that Victoria Cumnock, whose husband John was on the plane, will attend the screening along with other relatives of victims and first responders.

Paul Price sustained life-changing injuries and lost his partner Elaine McIver in the Manchester Arena terror attack in 2017, and has since campaigned for better support for survivors.

Speaking to the BBC's Today programme this morning, he remembers leaving hospital after a nine-month stay feeling "totally lost and directionless".

"I thought life was over for me," he continues, and says he had been reassured while in hospital that he would be looked after.

"I came out of hospital nine months later to nothing. I remember saying to myself 'Paul you've been in hospital for too long and they've forgotten about you', and they had," he says.

Forced to live with his parents, Price went from a fully-equipped rehab ward to a weekly physio visit at home.

"I needed help, I was navigating so many things: life-changing injuries, the loss of Elaine, I wasn't in a position to start creating a new life for myself," he adds.

Price has since campaigned for easier access to compensation for survivors of terror attacks.

Ewan Somerville
BBC News

Several of those who campaigned for a national day for terror victims and survivors still feel more needs to be done.

A report, released on Friday by the Survivors Against Terror (SAT), says while psychological support for victims had improved, no progress had been made to the state compensation scheme for terror victims, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.

SAT's co-founder Brendan Cox, whose wife MP Jo Cox was murdered by a neo-Nazi in 2016, welcomes the national day but warns "survivors also want it to be a moment of accountability".

Image source, Getty Images

Lisa Ghiggini, who survived the London Bridge attack in 2019, says: "At the moment we still have members who don't have the resources to build a downstairs toilet following attacks that have left them struggling to walk".

The Ministry of Justice, which is responsible for the taxpayer-funded scheme, where victims self-classify the type of incident, says £180m was paid out last year for all types of violent crime including terrorism.

Figen Murray, the mother of Martyn Hett, who was killed in the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, says today "will bring people together who often feel isolated".

She tells BBC Breakfast the man who carried out the attack that killed her son "may as well have detonated his bomb in our living room" as every member of the family has been "really affected" and "changed" by it.

The ceremony in London today will bring up "mixed emotions", she says, but "everybody can share their story and get together, and that's really important".

If you're affected by any of the issues in this page then support and help is available at BBC Action Line.

Guy Lambert
Society reporter

Here at the ceremony in central London, a stunning installation has been created using paper cranes.

Inspired by the story of Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl who became a victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, this installation of 1,000 paper cranes has been made by, or for, a person affected by a terror attack.

All of the cranes are made in the same way but each holds an individual significance for the person that created it. Some include private messages and prayers, while others have been decorated.

They have been sent for far and wide, representing attacks that have taken place all over the world. All in the combined hope for peace.

Ewan Somerville
BBC News

Travis Frain campaigned for this day for nearly five years.

On March 2017, his life changed forever after attacker Khalid Masood drove his car into crowds, killing four, before stabbing a police officer to death outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London.

At the time, Frain was a 19-year-old student on a university trip to the capital. He was snapping a photo of Big Ben when the car started speeding towards him.

"One of the guys in my group shouted 'look out' and as I looked up from my phone, the terrorist's car was in front of me. It was a split second really before the car hit me," Frain, now 28, tells the BBC.

Frain feels it is "morally correct that we should be remembering those lost to terrorism".

Victims are "often not targeted as individuals but as representatives of something far greater - the nation, the nation's values; the values we're all meant to hold, I'm sure", he says.

You can read more of Frain's story here.

Image source, PA Media

The idea for a national day for terror victims and survivors came about after a Home Office review, external found many people needed more support.

The government took recommendations from the review's findings on the importance of paying tribute to those impacted by terrorism, and introduced a national day. It also implemented a dedicated support hub for victims and survivors.

Today's event will focus on raising awareness about the specialist support available, sharing stories from victims and survivors, and educating the public about the history and impacts of terrorism.

The day will take place on 21 August each year, which aligns with the United Nations International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism, which was established by the UN General Assembly in 2017.

The government website lists some ways that people across the country can get involved, from lighting a remembrance candle at home, to donating to a victims’ charity or attending a local memorial.

Adam Goldsmith
Live reporter

Image source, PA Media

Today, the UK is observing its first national day for victims and survivors of terrorism.

There will be a ceremony in London this afternoon, consisting of reflections and readings, including from members of the emergency services, and a two-minute silence.

The event is set to begin at 14:30 BST and you’ll be able to watch live at the top of the page.

As we build up to the ceremony, we’ll bring you comments from campaign groups, some of whom say more still needs to be done to support survivors of terror attacks.

We’ll also be sharing the stories of people like Travis Frain. He was hit and left with multiple injuries when attacker Khalid Masood drove his car into crowds outside Parliament in 2017.

Frain says he will "always" be affected by the attack, and "we all have a role to play" in stopping terrorism.