HALIFAX: The 100th anniversary of the tragic sinking of the iconic passenger liner Titanic will be remembered in ceremonies across the world Sunday, with descendants of the victims leading the tributes.
Events marking the disaster were due to start in Halifax, the Canadian port city from where ships sailed to retrieve bodies from the icy Atlantic waters and where 150 of Titanic's 1,514 victims are buried.
The centenary, however, was to be a global event with artists, scientists and museums engaged in months-long preparations for commemorations in Britain, Canada, Northern Ireland and the United States.
One century after Titanic's fatal encounter with an iceberg, more than 1,700 passengers on two cruise ships -- the MS Balmoral from Southampton and the Azamara Journey from New York City -- plan to meet at the site where the Titanic went down to witness a partial reenactment.
The ship's captain will announce a collision and a distress call will ring out.
Passengers then plan to throw wreaths into the sea at 2:20 am (0520 GMT), the time that the ship sank, and where the drama unfolded about 800 kilometers (500 miles) southeast of Halifax.
The Titanic was built in the Northern Irish capital Belfast, and was sailing from the English port of Southampton on its maiden voyage toward New York when tragedy struck.
Some participants in the memorial events -- many of them history buffs or descendants of passengers of the doomed voyage -- came with personal stories about how the Titanic touched their lives.
Wendy Burkhart, a British Columbia resident who crossed the continent to attend the ceremonies in Halifax, told of how her ancestors narrowly missed a catastrophic trip on the ship.
"My great-great-grandparents, my grandmother and her sister were booked to travel on the Titanic," she said. "Their destination was Canada, where they wanted to start a new life. But then there was a family argument and it was decided to leave in the fall, rather than ... spring."
On a more personal note, Buckhart said James Cameron's 1997 movie about the tragedy was a trigger for her marriage to college sweetheart Jerry Evans, who reminded her of the movie's star Leonardo DiCaprio.
"I was struck by his resemblance to Jerry when we were younger," she said. "Right there, I vowed to some day get back together with him," she said.
Titanic 100 Society executive director Ken Pinto told The Chronicle Herald that memorial events held over the weekend would cement Halifax and Canada's place in Titanic's fabled story.
"The idea is not to have a carnival but an honorable marking of the tragic event," he said.
Late Saturday, participants in the memorial ceremonies plan to gather at the Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax before marching in a procession downtown.
Marchers plan to carry battery-powered candles and follow a horse-drawn carriage bearing a casket, stopping at some Titanic landmarks.
The procession will end at City Hall for memorial performances, with more than 20 local musicians and a Canadian Forces band participating.
Nova Scotia's Rhapsody Quintet was to play a selection of pieces reminiscent of music performed aboard the ship by the Titanic orchestra a century ago.
And just after midnight, at 12:27 am, Halifax will observe a moment of silence to mark the time when the last wireless telegraph message from the Titanic was received in Nova Scotia.
Afterward, bells will ring from four churches where the ceremonies for the dead were held in 1912.
And as a finale, distress flares will be fired into the air. There will be no fireworks. (AFP)