Hucknall and Bulwell folk invited to join people from across the county at Covid memorial event in Nottingham

Hosted by Nottingham City Council, the event will include a minute’s silence and will bring together faith leaders and Civic guests, including the Lord Mayor and the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Coun David Mellen (Lab), the city council leader, will lead the event at 1pm on Saturday, April 2.

He will be joined by representatives from the NHS, police, universities and community and voluntary groups.

The event follows a series of ‘living memorials’ to remember the people who have died from Covid in Nottingham since the start of the pandemic, which is now approaching 1,000.

A Covid memorial tree was planted at the Forest Recreation Ground – site of Covid vaccinations and testing – and Forget-me-not seeds were given to every primary school and made available free to the public from libraries to create an annual city-wide bloom.

A Covid memorial garden is to be created in Bulwell Forest, while 1,000 trees will be planted across the city to represent those who have died.

Coun Mellen said: “Covid-19 has taken an awful toll on our lives.

"I’m saddened that so many people have lost their lives in our city – to approach 1,000 deaths is a tragic milestone.

“It is important that we do everything we can to stop this death toll from rising any higher.

"Covid is still present in our city and in the wider country; we must continue to take steps to live safely with the virus.”