Additional Details Released on Services

More details were released today on memorial services planned for the first anniversary of the crash of Swissair Flight 111.

Lorne Clarke, chair of the Flight 111 Memorial Advisory Committee, said much thought went into organizing all aspects of the services.

"From the start the families have been an important consideration in all our planning," said Mr. Clarke. "I hope they find some measure of comfort in these services."

More than 600 family members are expected to arrive in Nova Scotia for the services next week.

Details are as follows:

SEPT. 1

11 a.m. -- Interment and memorial dedication at Bayswater. At the request of family members, these services will be private.

3:30 p.m. -- Memorial dedication at Whalesback.

Mr. Clarke will make the opening remarks and Rev. Cynthia Chenard, RCMP chaplain, will read the opening prayer.

Benoit Bouchard, chairman of the Transportation Safety Board, will then read the inscription on the monument in French, and Premier John Hamm will read the inscription in English and then dedicate the memorial.

Rev. Richard Walsh will give the benediction, followed by RCMP Insp. Andy Arsenault singing Roses on the Rocks, a song written by local artist Bob Quinn after the Swissair crash.

While Insp. Arsenault is singing, representatives of various groups will lay roses on each side of the memorial rocks:

• fisherman Robert Conrad
• David Zwicker, St. Margarets Bay Legion and Peggy's Cove Relief
• family member Lanita Hausman
• community volunteers Scott Manuel and Darrell Fralick
• Chris Hubley, ground search and rescue worker
• Lt.-Col. Clyde Russell, Land Force Atlantic Area
• Col. Michael W. Hache, commander, Maritime Air Component Atlantic
• Chief Robert Murphy, representing local firefighters
• John L. Byrne, Red Cross
• Assistant Commissioner Dwight L. Bishop, commanding officer, H Division, RCMP
• Jack Gallagher of the Canadian Coast Guard, representing the Department of Fisheries and Oceans

Closing remarks by Mr. Clarke will conclude the ceremony.

SEPT. 2

4 p.m. - 7 p.m. -- Commemorative gathering in the Port Royal Room, World Trade and Convention Centre, Halifax. The gathering provides an opportunity for family members to meet Nova Scotians who took part in the search, recovery and other operations following the crash. The gathering was organized at the request of the families.

Mr. Clarke will make opening remarks at 6 p.m. and Premier Hamm will officially welcome everyone to the gathering. National and international heads of state will begin their remarks shortly after.

Speakers include: Prime Minister Jean Chr‚tien; Ruth Dreifuss, president of the Swiss Confederation; Jane Garvey, administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration; Charles Josselin, minister delegate attached to the Minister of Foreign Affairs with responsibility for Co-operation and Francophonie, France; Halifax Mayor Walter Fitzgerald; and RCMP Commissioner Philip Murray.

9:30 p.m. -- Interfaith candlelight memorial service, open to the public, on Citadel Hill, Halifax. The service is being organized by the local Christian, Jewish and Islamic communities with the International Association of the Families of Swissair Flight 111. The gates will open at 9 p.m.