Hillsborough disaster history: Why is the Hillsborough memorial so dear to Liverpool fans?

Liverpool will be paying their final tribute to the 96 people that tragically lost their lives during the Hillsborough disaster. On the 31st anniversary and final memorial of the Hillsborough disaster, the question of 'What is Hillsborough disaster?' surfaced on Twitter. Along with the question of 'What is Hillsborough disaster?' fans were keen to know what happened at Hillsborough that holds significant importance for the Anfield faithful to this day.

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What is Hillsborough disaster? What happened at Hillsborough?

The answer to the question 'what is Hillsborough disaster?' is the tragic story of a fatal incident and is recorded as the worst sporting disaster in British history. The Hillsborough disaster took place at the Hillsborough stadium at Sheffield on April 15, 1989. The shocking incident resulted in 96 deaths of Liverpool fans and left 766 fans injured.

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What is Hillsborough disaster? Here's what happened at Hillsborough

The calamitous events of what happened at Hillsborough are still remembered 31 years on as Liverpool fans commemorate the death of those unfortunate 96 victims. Liverpool were set to play Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semi-final at the Hillsborough stadium but the match was abandoned just five minutes into the game after Liverpool fans in two standing-only pens were squashed against a fence following the collapse of one of the metal barriers. 

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What happened at Hillsborough? Hillsborough disaster history

At the time of the Hillsborough disaster, Yorkshire Police Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield blamed Liverpool fans for forcefully opening a gate in the stadium that resulted in the collapse. However, an independent panel was formed in 2009 to review the tragedy and the panel found no evidence of alcohol nor misbehaviour among the Liverpool fans. In 2014, David Duckenfield admitted that he had lied about the allegations against Liverpool and his failure to close the main tunnel lead to the central pens directly causing the deaths.

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Hillsborough disaster history

Liverpool fans honour the 96 fans that were killed in the Hillsborough disaster every year on April 15 with a memorial outside Anfield. However, due to the coronavirus lockdown, the fans have been advised to remain indoors this year and the memorial has been scheduled for a date in the future. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and club captain Jordan Henderson will deliver video messages online on the club's official website with a minute's silence to respect the 96 victims.