Kelly Ripa said the 9/11 memorial lights were “impactful to see those lights” after she and Mark Consuelos watched the testing in New York City on Tuesday evening. The remark came on the Wednesday, September 9 episode of Live With Kelly, tying a current memorial check to the live television memory that still hangs over Regis Philbin.
Mark Consuelos set up the moment with a simple report: “We had a beautiful night last night.” He then added, “We saw the 9/11 memorial. They test out the beams of light. So, we were able to see that last night.”
Tribute in Light and two blue beams
Tribute in Light first debuted in 2002 and sends two blue beams of light into the sky each year in remembrance of the lives lost in the attacks of September 11, 2001. The installation uses 88 7,000-watt xenon lightbulbs arranged in two 48-foot squares, and the beams can reach up to four miles into the sky.
From lower Manhattan, the display can also be seen within a 60-mile radius. That reach gives the memorial a scale that goes well beyond the immediate site, which is why a test on Tuesday evening was visible enough to become part of a live conversation the next day.
Live With Kelly and Regis Philbin
Resurfaced footage from Live with Regis and Kelly, dated September 11, 2011, shows Ripa and Philbin reacting live as the World Trade Center attacks began. The show had been rebranded in early 2001 after Ripa joined Philbin as co-host following Kathie Lee Gifford’s departure, and the broadcast began only minutes after American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North Tower at the World Trade Center.
Ripa and Philbin looked visibly shaken as they tried to process what was happening on air. Ripa said, “This is the worst thing I think I’ve ever seen in my life,” and added “worst tragedy” and “ever strike New York City,” while Philbin later called the incidents “deliberate” after the second plane hit.
Why Tuesday's test matters
The Tuesday night light test turned a routine preparation into a reminder of how the memorial works in real time: the beams are checked before they are displayed, and people across New York City can see the result from miles away. For viewers of Live With Kelly, the emotional weight came from hearing Ripa describe the lights as something she notices every year and from seeing how closely that remembrance sits beside the live record of September 11, 2001.
That is the hard edge of the story. A memorial built for annual display can feel ceremonial, but Ripa’s comments and the resurfaced broadcast show why the installation still lands as a living marker of the day, not a static one. Why the beams were being tested on Tuesday evening before the annual tribute is the only practical question left hanging.
