Canterbury earthquake memorial wall to be unveiled today

The Canterbury Earthquake Memorial wall is being unveiled today on the sixth anniversary of the February 2011 earthquake.

The national earthquake memorial is a multi-million dollar wall that has the names of the 185 people who lost their lives etched into it. Those who lost family members viewed it last night.

The names have been sandblasted onto 21 of the wall's 517 panels of Italian marble.

Otakaro Limited, Christchurch City Council, Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu and the Ministry of Culture and Heritage worked closely with families, those who were severely injured and first responders through the development of the design for the memorial.

Mayor Lianne Dalziel says the wall acknowledges death and life.

She says it's there for the dead, the seriously injured and those who lost homes and jobs, but also acknowledges all those who have contributed to the Christchurch recovery.

Christchurch Central MP Nicky Wagner is proud of the way the wall - on the north side of the Avon River - encompasses what the families wanted.

And there was plenty of emotion on the eve of today's anniversary, when Bruce Springsteen performed a three-hour show in Christchurch last night.

PM Bill English also tweeted encouragement to remember the earthquake at 12.51pm today, the time the quake struck six years ago, killing 185.

- Newstalk ZB