Victims of Christchurch terror attacks honoured at National Remembrance Service

That concludes 1 NEWS NOW's live updates of the National Remembrance Service for victims of the Christchurch mosques terrorist attack.

Read below to see how the event to honour the 50 people who died on March 15 played out.

11.46am: Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel said of Ms Ardern's speech following the service, "I thought that the Prime Minister's words just really rang out across Hagley Park and did you feel the sense that the crowd really understood what this was all about? Coming together actually makes all the difference in the world, and we can make a difference in the world".

11.34am: The remembrance service was closed with the final waiata of the morning, performed by a kapa haka group.

11.26am: Hollie Smith and Teeks performed a duet, after which the national anthem was performed by Maisey Rika.

11.20am: Kiwi artists Hollie Smith and Teeks have paid tribute to the lives lost in the Christchurch terror attacks with a touching duet.

11.15am: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has addressed members of the public at the National Remembrance Service in Hagley Park today. 

She said, "We gather here 14 days on from our darkest of hours, and the days that have followed the terrorist attack on 15th of March, we've often found ourselves without words".

"What words adequately express the pain and suffering of 50 men, women and children lost and so many injured. What words capture the anguish of our Muslim community being the target of hatred and violence? What words express the grief of a city that is already known so much pain? I thought there were none, and then I came here and was met with the simple greeting, 'alsalam ealaykum' - peace be upon you.

"They were words spoken by a community who, in the face of hate and violence, had every right to express anger, but instead opened their doors for all of us to grieve with them, and so we say to those who have lost the most, 'We may not have always had the words, we may have left flowers, performed the haka, sung songs or simply embraced, but even when we had no words, we still heard yours, and they have left us humbled, and they have left us united."

10.55am: Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens has taken to the stage to perform songs Peace Train and Don't Be Shy as part of a musical tribute to those affected by the Christchurch terror attacks. 

He said, "Our hearts go out to the families of those whose lives were snatched away in that evil carnage while they were worshipping in the mosque two weeks ago".

"We learn about things through their opposites, and it's through opposites like this, this evilness - that act and what drove it - we find its opposite, which is the love and kindness and unity which has sprung up right here in New Zealand. 

"Our prayers go to those shining souls whose lives were snatched away in that moment of madness. May peace be upon them."

10.53am: Members of the Muslim community have read the names of those who lost their lives in the Christchurch terror attacks, with the Christchurch Interfaith Society standing in solidarity.

10.35am: A survivor of the Al Noor Mosque terrorist attack, Farid Ahmed, has thanked New Zealanders for "coming together to show the world that New Zealand is a peaceful country". 
Mr Ahmed said, "People ask me that why do you, 'Why did you forgive someone who has killed your beloved wife?' The answer to this is, I can give so many answers, but because of the time, I'll give only a couple of points. The first point is, I have a faith. I believe in Allah, and Allah says that if we forgive one another, then He loves me. He loves us."

10.15am: Kiwi singer Marlon Williams has sung a waiata as part of a musical tribute to the lives lost in the Christchurch terror attacks.

10:12am: Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel addressed dignitaries and members of the public as she welcomed families to the memorial service.

9.53am:  "15mins to go in #christchurch many more people arriving. Buses though free, were detoured due to road closures. Traffic is very congested in 2km+ radius of Hagley," one Twitter user said.

9.45am: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was photographed with Australian dignitaries as he paid his respects to the victims of the terror attacks. Mr Morrison said in a tweet, "Today we are all joined together as Australians, beyond politics, to grieve with, and for our NZ whanau (family) #christchurch". 

9.40am:  Communications and PR specialist Mehpara Khan said the current mood within the Muslim community in general has been "really positive", adding, "There is a lot of support and people wanting to know, 'Where do we go from here? How do we actually make people feel welcome and integrated?', which I think is a really good conversation to be having.

"This has sparked a lot of positive conversations, but at the same time, there's a weird fear that runs deep now – a weird sense of hypervigilance that is a subconscious thing that runs through day-to-day lives now."

9.35am: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has visited Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch to pay his respects to the victims of the Christchurch terror attacks.

Mr Morrison wrote on Twitter, "Visited the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch with Jen this morning to lay flowers to remember the victims of the NZ terror attack #kiakahachch".

9.20am:  St John Canterbury District operations manager Wally Mitchell said staff are looking towards "getting back on the horse" and "keen to get back to business as usual".

"A lot of the staff involved with this were also involved with the Christchurch earthquake as well, so Christchurch is a fairly resilient community from a disaster perspective, and I think that showed through on the day for us and our teams and the recovery process as well."

St John has 35 staff members and nine ambulances on the ground to assist with the event.

9.15am: After meeting with members of the Muslim community, the Waitaki Remembrance Service has been delayed to Friday, April 5, Waitaki mayor Gary Kircher announced in a statement.

9am:  Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel said she expects there to be a large turnout of people to Hagley Park for the service.

"I think people will want to be there [at Hagley Park], and I know that many people have made decisions to close their businesses for the morning, closed schools for the morning to bring as many people to the park as they possibly can."

8.45am:  TVNZ’s Hilary Barry says the mood has changed in Christchurch two weeks on from the terrorist attack but that the "shock has subsided."

"As people have come to terms with what's happened, the healing process has started."

8.40am:  Police commissioner Mike Bush said members of the public will see a "very visible police presence" throughout the morning as the Remembrance Service gets underway. 

"You’ll see a very visible police presence today. This is one of the largest security events ever conducted by the New Zealand Police and our partner agencies, so highly visible, well-equipped police presence here."

8.20am:  Canterbury University Muslim Students' Association president Bariz Shah told TVNZ1's Breakfast earlier this morning that Facebook's move to ban white nationalists from their social network was a necessary one – but said the Government "has to take a stance before Facebook".

"Of course not. It's Facebook – they have to take a stance because this happened in their social media domain.

"We have to take a stance as a nation, our Government has to take a stance before Facebook, do you know what I mean? Because it's basically something we've been dealt with as a nation, so we have to face the consequences and come up with a solution as soon as possible."

8.00am:  Muslim community advocates Guled Mire and Bilal Nasier have spoken to TVNZ1's Breakfast this morning in Christchurch's north Hagley Park ahead of this morning's National Remembrance Services.

Mr Nasier said he hoped to see "a big turnout of people coming out and showing solidarity with the Muslim community" during today's service.

"I think, more than ever, we need to put that out on display and show the community that we’re here with them and we’re here for them and we’re willing to stand by them."

Mr Mire added: "We've seen that happen in the two weeks going forward [from the Christchurch terror attacks] but I guess what I want to add is that it’s a long process from here onwards. Today is a day to just really remember the lives that we have lost and those that are also injured – pray for the best".

Mr Mire also noted the challenges going forward in supporting the younger Muslim community through "wraparound assistance and support services".

"There's a big challenge in terms of not just supporting our young people within the community, but I think, much broader than that, the scale and the impact of this incident is massive and I think going forward, we're going to need a lot of wraparound assistance and support services for our Muslim communities and actually coming through this. We're talking about serious trauma.

"It's actually been so full-on that we haven't really had the time to process it for ourselves, but we're hoping that today, we can take the time out to just remember those that we have lost, and also the work that we have to do going forward."