Stober continues her speech by highlighting the importance of support and connection during a victim or survivor's recovery.

She says this is present in the phone calls people continue to receive, the messages they might get from colleagues, and the neighbours who listen.

"These acts may seem small but they make a profound difference to us," she tells the room.

Stober then turns to talking about hope, which she says "must never be used" to minimise grief, rush healing or suggest loss can be left behind.

She says hope is found in everyday choices - including to "reject hatred", "challenge division" and "stand beside those who are hurting".

Concluding her remarks, Stober offers her sympathies to all affected by terrorism, adding: "Your pain is real, your loss matters, your voices matter."

Image source, Getty Images

We're now hearing from Thelma Stober, a survivor of the 7/7 London bombings.

She describes suffering "life-changing injuries, including the loss of a limb, my hearing and latent brain injuries".

Stober has since dedicated her life to working with and supporting survivors.

She says that today, people gather to remember "not only the events themselves but also the human stories behind them - the lives interrupted, the futures altered".

The consequences of terrorism are measured "in years and decades", as opposed to the "seconds or minutes" of the attack, she says.

"Resilience is not about forgetting... it is about finding the strength to continue despite profound loss and adversity," she says, finding "meaning, purpose and hope".

Image source, Getty Images

Price says he refuses to let terrorism have the last word.

He says terrorism does not end when emergency services leave the scene, but continues for years in hospital wards and in children growing up without a parent.

"When a nation remembers its victims and survivors, it says your lives matter, your losses matter and we will not look away," Price says.

Price finishes by saying he misses and loves Elaine every day, adding that her memory and the memory of every person killed or injured by terrorism can help shape a better future "if we choose to carry it with purpose".

"I ask you to remember not only what is lost, but what has been rebuilt and what remains possible," he adds.

Price now addresses the theme of today's second section: hope.

He describes hope as the "quiet decision, again and again, that tomorrow can still hold purpose, even when today is heavy with loss".

Price describes how in the early months it manifested as the determination to simply take one more step in physiotherapy.

Price, who is visibly emotional, describes the difficulty of rebuilding an identity without his partner Elaine, and how resilience forced him to accept help when pride made this difficult.

"I will never be the man I was before 22 May 2017, that man died in the City Room with Elaine, the man who emerged has had to adapt every part of daily life - physically, emotionally and practically."

But he says he has found "renewed purpose" supporting others walking similar paths.

After a brief musical interlude, the ceremony moves onto its next theme - hope and resilience.

We're now hearing from Paul Price, who sustained life-changing injuries and lost his partner Elaine in the Manchester Arena attack in 2017.

He says "the world I knew had gone" when he left hospital after a nine-month stay.

He had to "climb mountains" every single day, and the future he had imagined with Elaine had "vanished", Price says.

Today, the pain hasn't disappeared, he says, but he has "discovered both hope and resilience can be rebuilt brick by careful brick, even when everything has been shattered".

Image source, Home Office livestream

Cheryl reflects on the poem We Remember Them, which she came across at the beginning of her "journey of grief".

She says she hopes it will give people comfort and hope that their loved ones will stay safe and close.

Cheryl reads out the poem and asks the crowd to join in for the last line.

"As long as we live, they too will live, for they are now a part of us as we remember them," she reads.

Image source, Getty Images

Before the ceremony observed a two-minute silence, we heard from Cheryl Stollery whose husband, John, was killed in the 2015 Tunisia attack.

She says there will be others at the event who also lost people in that attack.

Stollery says they will all have "treasured memories" of loved ones no longer alive, and that her husband would wish to be remembered for the life he lived, not the way he died.

She references his work as a social worker, as well as his "wicked sense of humour" and "cheeky smile".

"We miss him every day," she continues, but adds they find strength in the "loved we shared" and a commitment to his "legacy of kindness for others".

The ceremony is about to observe a two-minute silence in memory of victims of terrorism.

We'll be pausing our live posts here while that takes place.

Image source, Reuters

More now from Security Minister Dan Jarvis.

He says a national day "cannot undo what has happened", and "no ceremony can ever remove the pain and impact of terrorism".

But he hopes today can offer "something important nonetheless", acting as a reminder that "your experiences matter" and that the country "stands alongside you".

He says that terrorism "seeks to create fear and division" but that it does not have to "define what comes next".

He then thanks all of those involved in the day, saying that victims, survivors and the bereaved will "always have a place in the national memory".

Concluding his remarks, Jarvis pays tribute to the victims: "Today and always we honour them, we remember them, and we affirm our commitment to never forget them."

Image source, Home Office livestream

Oppenheim invites Security Minister Dan Jarvis to the stage.

He says it is a great honour and privilege to mark this "significant moment".

Jarvis says he has met many victims, survivors and bereaved families impacted by terror and knows how important it is that they're recognised and remembered.

He says today is for everyone whose lives have been changed in ways they never chose by terrorism and those whose lives were taken.

Jarvis adds that for many it will be a deeply personal day and says everyone whose lives have been changed by terrorism "has my deepest respect and solidarity".

Image source, Reuters

Deputy Chair of the National Emergencies Trust Gerald Oppenheim begins the ceremony by welcoming those present and people joining via the live stream.

He says that many of those here have been "directly affected" by terrorism, while others join in "support and solidarity".

He mentions some of those attending including the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the prime minister, and representatives of the devolved governments.

He says he has spent more than two decades working to support people affected by emergencies, disasters and terrorism, and that he has learnt the importance of listening to people and ensuring they receive the support and assistance they need.

He says he hopes he has become "something of an advocate" for that.

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 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.