80 Candles for 80 Years
A powerful nationwide arts and education exhibition commemorating 80 years since the liberation of the Nazi’s Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
The 80 Candles for 80 Years project has involved 80 communities and organisations across the UK who have created unique candleholders, each one inspired by the life story of Jewish people murdered during the Holocaust and other individuals targeted by the Nazi regime.
The result is a moving and beautiful collection that has united communities in a collective act of remembrance, honouring the victims and standing as a beacon of hope for the future. A key aim of the project is to carry forward the legacy of survivors and those who were murdered, while challenging those who distort or deny the Holocaust and who discriminate against or persecute others today. To ensure the project’s lasting impact, each community was encouraged to make a ‘Take Action Commitment’, which included actions to support marginalised communities and raise awareness of prejudice.
The exhibition will be visiting locations across the UK until Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January 2026, starting at JW3 in London followed by Sunderland, Worcester, Plymouth, Manchester and Sheffield. More dates and venues will be added throughout the year.
The People who Created the Candleholders
The participating people and organisations come from a diverse cross-section of society, including educational institutions, prisons, the public sector, faith and interfaith groups, local authorities, inclusive communities, charities, museums and heritage organisations. All participants dedicated their time and energy to learn, commemorate and memorialise the Holocaust. Meet some of them in our film below.
With Assistance from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany
Supported by the German Federal Ministry of Finance
