AN EVENT to mark the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Bradford is to be moved online over social distancing concerns.

The ceremony, featuring contributions from the Bishop of Bradford Toby Howarth, Naz Shah MP and Lord Mayor Councillor Doreen Lee alongside a poem written especially for the occasion by Bradford poet Sharena Lee Satti, will now be live streamed at 11am on Saturday.

Norfolk Gardens has always been the venue for the annual event in Bradford organised by the Yorkshire Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament but due to the milestone anniversary this year, many more people were expected to gather.

“We really struggled with this decision, as we had so many wanting to take part but the space around the Hiroshima memorial is very limited and the council were very concerned - our first priority must be everyone’s safety,” said organiser Mollie Somerville of Heaton.

On Sunday, mayors across the UK who are members of Mayors for Peace are asking everyone to observe The Silent Minute at 11.02am to mark the 75th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Mayors for Peace is an international body which came into being in 1982 at the second United Nations Special Session on Disarmament held in New York, when Takeshi Araki, the then Mayor of Hiroshima, called for cities throughout the world to transcend national borders and work together to press for nuclear abolition.

Cllr Lee said: “75 years on, we stop and we reflect on the many lives lost and ruined in those devastating attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

“It is vitally important that we never forget the horror of these bombings and their aftermath. It should not fade from our memory.”

The anniversary which has seen socially distanced events take place across the world, was marked by Ireland, Nigeria and Niue all signing the UN Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which campaigners now hope will become international law by Christmas.

“It’s such a fitting tribute to all those civilians killed and those still suffering the legacy of the bombing that the international community is working to put an end to these monstrous weapons for good," added Joyce Robertshaw, of Shipley

"Here in Bradford we’re calling on our councillors to pledge their support. We want to see Bradford become the next city to support the ban following the example of hundreds of toher cities and towns around the world.”

The live stream will be at yorkshirecnd.org.uk and facebook.com/YorkshireCND.