A national commemoration day to remember the Holocaust and other genocides will be marked with a local public exhibition.

The Holocaust Memorial Day takes place on 27 January every year to mark the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the largest Nazi concentration camp, on the same date in 1945. The public exhibition is open from 2:30pm – 4:30pm at Falkirk Town Hall.

It is the third year running that Falkirk Council has hosted the day and it will be used to recognise other genocides such as those in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur as well as the Holocaust.

The exhibition will feature a mix of films, poetry and music and art from local schools and community groups. It will detail the experiences of religious, political, travelling, gay and lesbian communities during the Holocaust and tell the story of groups affected by other genocides.

Provost Pat Reid said: “The Holocaust Memorial Day is nationally recognised and there were over 2400 events to commemorate the day held across the UK last year.

“The national theme for this year’s day is to ‘keep the memory alive’ and this is important to ensure that the terrible genocides of the past are never allowed to happen again in the future.

“On a local level, the day will bring together a wide range of groups and highlight the diverse mix of people living in the area. It would be great to see lots of people visit the exhibition.”

The public exhibition will follow an invitation only event in the morning. This will feature a presentation by LGBT youth, podcasts from genocide survivors, songs of remembrance from local school choirs and a video produced by the local travelling community.