World leaders offer 9/11 remembrances on 20th anniversary

World leaders — from Queen Elizabeth II to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — paid tribute on Saturday to those lost in the 9/11 attacks 20 years ago.

Why it matters: World leaders honored the almost 3,000 victims lost as well as the bravery and resilience of first responders with ceremonies, tributes and messages.

• After sunset in the United Kingdom, 67 candles will be lit in the September 11 Memorial Garden in Grosvenor Square, London to remember each of the British victims, according to BBC.
• Gander, a town in Newfoundland, Canada, will unveil a monument that features a piece of the World Trade Center steel that was gifted by New York firefighters in 2011, per the Global News. The town received multiple flights and displaced travelers 20 years ago.

"Amid the fear, heartbreak, and horror of that day, we saw courage, heroism, and selflessness emerge,"

What they're saying: The Queen sent a message to President Joe Biden, who was at a ceremony at Ground Zero Saturday morning, remembering the lives lost.

• "My visit to the site of the World Trade Center in 2010 is held fast in my memory. It reminds me that as we honor those from many nations, faiths and backgrounds who lost their lives, we also pay tribute to the resilience and determination of the communities who joined together to rebuild," she said.
• “They failed to drive our nations apart, or cause us to abandon our values, or to live in permanent fear," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
• "We have now had to recognize that although we have been able to defeat terrorism, which is endangering our security, at the present time we have not achieved all our goals," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a speech.
• "Whoever saw these images [of 9/11] also felt affected — in solidarity with our American friends," German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier wrote in a letter to Biden.

• "We will never forget. We will always fight for freedom," French President Emmanuel Macron said.

• "20 years ago we stood in solidarity. In a more dangerous world, North America & Europe must continue to stand together in #NATO, because we are safer together," said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
• "On 9/11 we remember those who lost their lives and honour those who risked everything to help them," said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.
• "The American people are commemorating 20 years since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, an event that we Venezuelans categorically condemn," President Nicolas Maduro tweeted.
• "Twenty years ago, the world shook with an unprecedented insane act of terrorism. Thousands of people died and humanity understood that terrorism is the worst form of human degradation and corruption," Colombian President Ivan Duque posted on Twitter.