Sunday's national remembrance event will be live broadcast around the world.
Sunday's national remembrance event will be live broadcast around the world.
The national memorial marking the one year anniversary of the Christchurch mosque shootings where 51 people were killed has been moved indoors.
Thousands are expected to turn out for the national remembrance service which was scheduled to be held in North Hagley Park in Christchurch on Sunday.
However, the survivors and families of victims have been advised this morning that it will now be held at Horncastle Arena in the city "due to wet weather forecast".
It will still start at 3pm.
The programme for the service has been put together with input from those most affected by the attacks, including survivors and families of the victims.
Organisers says the memorial is a chance to "stand in solidarity with everyone affected and come together as a nation that truly values diversity and all it brings".
Students from Burnside High School and Cashmere High School – two schools most affected by the mosque attacks, with Cashmere losing two current students and a past student in the attacks, and one student from Burnside also died - will perform music at the service.
Local Muslim leaders, Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel and other dignitaries will also take part in the service, which will be jointly led by the local Muslim community, Christchurch City Council, the Government and Ngāi Tūāhuriri as mana whenua.
Dalziel says she is mindful of the national significance of what has occurred, at the same time as recognising the impact on local communities.
"This will be an opportunity to remember those who died and were injured and traumatised, along with the people who responded, from bystanders to the emergency services and hospital staff," she said.
"It is also an opportunity to reflect on the response which rejected hatred and division and embraced love, compassion and unity."
The full order of service and further details is yet to be finalised. The remembrance service will be livestreamed for people to view worldwide. More details on the livestream will be released soon.
Last week, some members of the Muslim community expressed displeasure, saying the service contradicted Islamic culture , which doesn't typically mark anniversaries.
But Al Noor Masjid imam Gamal Fouda this week said the events of March 15 were a "crime against humanity" and deserved to be treated as an exception to normal Islamic rules.
Thousands attended last year's national remembrance service in Hagley Park. Photo / Dean Purcell
The memorial is an opportunity for New Zealanders to stand together against hate and hate speech, Fouda says.
Meanwhile, police have already increased patrols around Al Noor and Linwood mosques, and last week searched an address in relation to a threat against Al Noor mosque. A man was charged on an unrelated matter as police continued to gather evidence in relation to the Al Noor incident.
Security measures for the national remembrance service are under wraps for "operational reasons", police say.
