"I’ve been crying all day": Ten years after Pulse, survivors gather to honor the dead

Ten years after the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub, survivors, family and friends of the 49 victims are gathering in Orlando to honor the dead.

Several events around the city will pay tribute to those lost in what was then the largest mass shooting in American history. 58 clubgoers at the Latin-themed night during Pride Month were injured in the massacre, many of them severely. Others still suffer the emotional fallout.

“I’ve been crying all day,” out Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan told the Orlando Herald-Tribune. Sheehan was on-site at Pulse as the tragedy unfolded and helped lead the city’s response in the aftermath.

Brandon Wolf, a survivor and advocate following the tragedy, lamented “ten years of missing faces at birthday parties, empty seats at dinner tables, and voicemails never returned.”

Now senior communications director at Equality Florida, Wolf said missteps honoring the victims and the current hateful political climate have only added to the tragedy.

“But one thing has not changed: the strength of our community to, in the face of hate, shine brighter and bolder than before,” he said.

Orlandoans will come together to remember at several memorials today and through June.

First United Methodist Church will commemorate the victims at the 2026 Pulse Remembrance Ceremony, featuring the Orlando Gay Chorus and more musical performances by local artists, a presentation by Orlando Poet Laureate Camara Gaither, and a candlelight ceremony and reading of the 49 names.

City Hall Plaza in Orlando will host a prayer ribbon memorial exhibition through June 14. Ten years ago, Jay Critchley and a group of fellow Provincetown artists sent colorful ribbons inscribed with each victim’s name to Orlando. 49 black ribbons honor the dead on the tenth anniversary of the shooting.

An exhibition at the Terrace Gallery in Orlando features 49 portraits honoring those who died at Pulse. For Created in Community: Portraits of Pulse, artist Jeff Sonksen provided a kind of paint-by-numbers start for each picture, which family and friends completed.

Orlando City Commissioner Sheehan was instrumental in organizing an on-site blood donation drive as the Pulse nightclub shooting unfolded. That life-saving effort is honored and repeated at the Day of Remembrance Blood Drive at City Hall on Friday. Donors can reserve a spot with the local blood donation organization, OneBlood.

The future Pulse Memorial site will be lit in rainbow colors overnight through June 15.

On Saturday, the Human Rights Campaign and Equality Florida will lead a panel discussion called 10 Years Since Pulse: Honor Them With Action Memorial Panel, featuring Equality Florida’s Wolf and out Florida state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D). The panel looks back, and forward, to talk about ways to honor the victims with action. The event is at 10 a.m. June 13 at a private location. Register at mobilize.us.

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