London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and Israeli Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely were among those joining 30 Holocaust survivors at a Yom HaShoah commemoration at Jewish Care’s Golders Green campus on Wednesday night.

Mr Khan said the message of Yom HaShoah was that “we must never forget and never let it happen again. Non-Jewish people must stand shoulder to shoulder with Jewish people as we see sadly see antisemitism on the rise again, both in the UK and across Europe.

“I will continue to be an ally and stand shoulder to shoulder with you.”

Echoing his sentiments, Chief Rabbi Mirvis added that it was imperative to stand up for anyone facing oppression, such as the people of Ukraine and the Uyghur Muslims in China.

Addressing the survivors directly, he pledged: “We will continue to hold your flame aloft. We will continue to tell your story.”

In an inter-generational element, a choir comprised of pupils from the Sacks Morasha, Etz Chaim, Clore Tikva and Wohl Ilford primaries sang alongside the Shabbaton Choir.

Proceedings were also viewed by thousands of people across the country and beyond through a live-stream of the ceremony.

And a synchronised candle-lighting drew over 100 participants, including from the March of the Living at Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Yom HaShoah UK chair Neil Martin said afterwards that with the national ceremony having been forced online for the past two years because of the pandemic, “it was vital this year to enable as many survivors and refugees as possible to gather in person. We were delighted that Jewish Care, the home of the Holocaust Survivors’ Centre, agreed to open its doors to be to be the main base for our national broadcast.”