ORLANDO, Fla. — Thousands gathered around Lake Eola Sunday to remember 49 lives that were taken when a gunman entered Pulse nightclub and opened fire.
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The 90-minute program, hosted by Channel 9's Nancy Alvarez and Jorge Estevez, included remarks from Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and several other elected officials.
Right before the vigil began, a rainbow, the long-standing symbol of the LGBTQ community, streaked across the sky.
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“This is the moment in time when hears are opened and minds are changed forever,” Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said. “And this is the moment when love will prevail.”
Photos: 50,000 remember Pulse shooting victims at Lake Eola vigil
The event started out as a small grassroots effort to remember the 49 victims killed at the gay bar in the early hours of June 12, but ballooned to 50,000 by the time it started Sunday.
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Billed as a “gathering of friends,” the vigil did not have any religious, political or brand association, organizers said.
Jacobs told the crowd that it was time for the violence to end and that people needed to come together to make that happen.
“Together we will drive out the darkness,” she said. “We will drive it out with kindness and compassion.”
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer lent his voice to the call, and told the crowd that the Pulse nightclub shooting would not be what Orlando is remembered for.
“We will not, and have not, been defined by the hate-filled act of a deranged killer,” he said.
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At the end of the program, Lake Eola was illuminated by the light of 50,000 candles.
Orlando city commissioner Patty Sheehan summed up her feelings about the shooting, the vigil and massive outpouring from the community and the world.
“I love you. You are my family,” she said. “You are my community. You are my Orlando.”
People who couldn't attend the vigil were encouraged to donate to the OneOrlando Fund at
[ OneOrlando.org ]
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