Members of a north-east nuclear disarmament group will come together this Thursday in a poignant ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Japan.
Activists from the Aberdeen and District Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) have organised the event which will involve the release of 200 peace lanterns onto the river Dee to commemorate the 200,000 men, women and children who died following the explosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the dying days of World War II.
The ceremony is open to the public and will take place on Thursday at 8.30pm by the side of the River Dee at the fisherman’s hut off Riverside Drive.
It will feature songs from local singers Dave Davies and Kirsty Potts, as well as poems by the recently deceased Aberdeen peace activist Hilda Meers, which will be read by Tommy Campbell from Unite the Union.
Yu Aoki who lives and works in Aberdeen but who was born in Hiroshima will also be among the speakers.
North-east MSP Christian Allard raised a motion at the Scottish Parliament highlighting the forthcoming event.
Jonathan Russell, chairman of Aberdeen and District CND, said “For most of us nuclear weapons have been a part of the world we live in for all of our lives.
“We can as such often put into the back of our minds just how horrific these weapons would be if used.
“There are still, however, 19,500 nuclear weapons in the world – enough to destroy our world several times over.”