Liverpool fans paid an emotional tribute on Wednesday on the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster when 96 football supporters were crushed to death in Britain's worst sporting disaster.

Families of the victims and tens of thousands of sympathisers gathered at Liverpool Football Club's Anfield ground to remember victims of the tragedy at the 1989 FA Cup semifinal between their club and Nottingham Forest.

For relatives, survivors and those present on the day, the anniversary has revived the heartache of the tragedy, in which helpless fans were crushed to death in a matter of minutes.

The city of Liverpool came to a standstill to remember the victims of the disaster, caused by massive overcrowding in the Leppings Lane end of the Hillsborough ground in the northern city of Sheffield.

People fell silent across Liverpool, outside Hillsborough and in Nottingham's central square at 3:06pm, exactly 20 years on from the moment the match was abandoned as the scale of the horror began to unfold.

At Anfield, the names of the dead were read out, a sombre bell tolling and a candle lit for each one.

"At six minutes past three we remember in silent thanksgiving those we love and who live forever with angels and with the company of heaven. Please stand," the crowd were told.

There was sustained applause after an impeccably marked silence in Anfield.

Players past and present were among the congregation.

A reading was given by Kenny Dalglish, the Liverpool manager on the day, who quit two years later under the strain the disaster placed on him.

Like all English Premiership football grounds, Anfield is now an all-seater stadium, a change brought in in the wake of the tragedy.

"People will never forget that day; it's etched on our memories," Prime Minister Gordon Brown told Liverpool FC's television channel, paying tribute to those who died.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, whose 10-year-old cousin Jon-Paul Gilhooley was the youngest victim of the tragedy, spoke of his feelings this week.

"Time has gone by, but the scars will never ever be healed and the fans will never ever forget. So you can always rely on our supporters to be there for you when you need them."

In the immediate aftermath of the Hillsborough tragedy, Lord Justice Peter Taylor was commissioned to conduct an inquiry that would have a far-reaching impact on the game.

Taylor was deeply critical of the police response at Hillsborough, but his most significant recommendations were the removal of perimeter fencing and the creation of all-seater stadiums.

The report has been cited as playing a part in the transformation of English football from the dark days of 1980s into to the globally-watched spectacle nowadays.

Brown attacked press reports at the time blaming Liverpool fans for the tragedy and bad behaviour as the disaster unfolded.

Such was the revulsion among Liverpool supporters at some of the reports that they organised a boycott of The Sun tabloid newspaper, which still sells just a fraction of the copies it did in the city pre-Hillsborough.

"It was wrong for people to blame, as some did, Liverpool fans on that day," he said, adding: "That's probably what matters most ? that people understood that the behaviour of Liverpool fans in helping each other was magnificent.

"Let's never forget the fans who cruelly lost their lives on a day when we know the people of Liverpool were trying to help each other," he added.

Following consultation with the victims' families, there was no formal ceremony at Hillsborough, although the Leppings Lane end where the disaster happened was opened.