Boston remembers bombing victims

Solemn ... members of the Boston Police Department, Boston Fire Department, and Massachusetts State Police prepare for a wreath-laying ceremony to commemmorate the Boston Marathon Bombing. Picture: Andrew Burton Source: AFP

THE anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings started with a solemn wreath-laying ceremony Tuesday at the site of the twin explosions that killed three people and injured more than 260.

The ceremony was the first in a day dedicated to honoring the victims and the first responders, doctors and nurses who helped them.

It was attended by the families of the three bombing victims - Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell and Lu Lingzi - as well as relatives of Massachusetts Institute of Technology police Officer Sean Collier, who was killed in the aftermath of the blasts.

Then and now ... views of Boylston Street on April 15, 2013 and April 10, 2014 show people on the ground after the first of two bombs exploded near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon, and pedestrians walking along the same footpath almost a year later. Picture: Ken McGagh and Elise Amendola Source: AP

The solemn ceremonies will take place at the scene of the carnage at one of the world's sporting events - in the heart of the city, on Boylston Street.

Church bells will toll at 2.49pm (4.49am AEST Wednesday), the moment the first bomb exploded at the race's finish line on April 15 last year.

The two pressure-cooker devices allegedly planted by two brothers of Chechen descent, who had lived in the US for years, sent metal fragments flying through the crowd. Several people lost limbs.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is now 20, and his 26-year-old brother Tamerlan were identified thanks to pictures and video footage and eventually cornered by police after a four-day manhunt that paralysed the city of nearly one million.

Recovery ... included in a recent Pulitzer Prize-winning portfolio is a picture of Jeff Bauman, who lost his lower legs in the Boston Marathon bombings, walking on his own for the first time. Picture: AP/The New York Times/Josh Haner Source: AP

Tamerlan died after an exchange of fire with police, and Dzhokhar was wounded and captured. The younger Tsarnaev, a naturalised US citizen, will go on trial in November and could face the death penalty if convicted.

Authorities say two brothers planned and orchestrated the attack and later shot and killed Collier during an attempt to steal his gun.

Governor Deval Patrick, Mayor Martin Walsh and Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley were among those who attended the morning ceremony held in a light rain amid the music of bagpipes. Cardinal O'Malley offered a prayer.

Tribute ... Boston Mayor Marty Walsh participates in a wreath-laying ceremony with members of the Boston Marathon bombings victims' families. Picture: Jared Wickerham Source: AFP

Vice President Joe Biden, Patrick and former Mayor Tom Menino will be among the dignitaries expected to honour the victims later Tuesday during a program at the Hynes Convention Center. Speakers also will include survivors of the bombing.

This year, the Boston Marathon - which has been run since 1897 - will take place on Monday, April 21.

Organisers have allowed thousands more runners to register - from about 27,000 in recent years to 36,000 this year, not far from the record 38,708 who entered in 1996 in the 100th marathon.

Gone, not forgotten ... a combination of May 7, 2013 and April 10, 2014 photos shows Kevin Brown placing a toy at a makeshift memorial near the Boston Marathon finish line, and people walking through the square nearly a year later. Picture: Steven Senne Source: AP

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to 30 federal charges related to the bombings, including 17 serious charges that can carry sentences of death or life in prison.

The charges include using a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death, as well as conspiracy and bombing of a place of public use resulting in death, and carjacking.

Tsarnaev is also charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a campus police officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology during the brothers' wild getaway attempt.

Prosecutors have said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev left a hand-scrawled confession condemning US actions in Muslim countries on the inside wall of a boat he was found hiding in following the police shootout.

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