ORLANDO, Fla. — The city of Orlando on Monday installed the prayer ribbons that honor the 49 people who died in the Pulse shooting on June 12, 2016, the first of several events to commemorate the tragic day nearly 10 years ago.
They will be on display through Sunday outside Orlando City Hall in downtown Orlando.
The ribbons return as Orlando continues its annual tradition of honoring victims of the Pulse nightclub tragedy ahead of the commemoration, 10 years later. The tradition was started by a community group in Massachusetts and has since become a shared act of reflection and honor. pic.twitter.com/7zx2Vr0zZl
— Spectrum News 13 (@MyNews13) June 8, 2026
The tradition began in the days after the mass shooting.
The idea for the prayer ribbons came from the Provincetown Community Compact group and the organization’s executive director, artist Jay Critchley, because they wanted to show support for the grieving and their solidarity as allies to the LGBTQ+ community. Soon after the shooting, the group’s members were invited to Orlando to install them in front of Orlando City Hall for the first time.
Critchley once again this year sent the colorful ribbons that include messages of support to the community.
Other events throughout the week will commemorate the lives lost at Pulse.
Through June 15, the wall at the site of the Pulse Memorial will be illuminated in rainbow colors from dusk until dawn nightly as a tribute marking a decade of resilience for the survivors and the community.
On Thursday inside City Hall, the Portraits of Pulse exhibition will open, and it will remain there through August 23. The exhibition, which is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., features 49 portraits honoring the lives lost. Central Florida artist Jeff Sonksen designed the portraits in a paint-by-number format, and in 2017, victims’ families, friends and members of the Orlando community completed them. More than 1,000 individuals contributed to an Orlando traveling memorial that visited locations around and outside the city. The Orange County Regional History Center acquired the exhibit in 2024 to preserve it.
In the days immediately following the mass shooting, thousands of Central Floridians participated in blood drives, and regional blood banks reported collecting over 28,000 units of blood to help survivors who were severely injured in the shooting. OneBlood will hold a Day of Remembrance Blood Drive from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday outside City Hall in downtown Orlando. People interested in giving blood can make reservations on a special page for the event on OneBlood’s website.
The commemoration of 10 years since the tragic shootings wraps up Friday with the 2026 Pulse Remembrance Ceremony starting at 5:30 p.m. at First United Methdist Church, at 142 E. Jackson St. in downtown Orlando. The ceremony honors the lives of the 49 people who died and the families, survivors, first responders and trauma teams whose lives were changed by the tragedy.