Luh de Suriyani, Denpasar – Survivors and relatives of the victims of the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings said prayers and lit candles on Sunday during a small, private ceremony to remember the sixth anniversary of the deadly attacks.

About 50 people, some choking back tears, gathered at the Australian consulate and laid down flowers in memory of the 202 people who died when blasts ripped through the Sari Club and Paddy's Pub in the heart of the tourist strip in Kuta.

"This tragedy awakened us to the important things of love, life and brotherhood," said Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika, who as Bali police head at the time led investigations into the attacks by Islamic militants.

Twenty-two candles were lit to symbolize the nationalities of those who died in the attacks, as Ave Maria and the Indonesian memorial song Lilin-Lilin Kecil (small candles) played in the background.

"Six years ago, 88 Australians lost their lives and many more were injured in the bombings in Bali. Today we honor their memory," Australia's ambassador to Indonesia, Bill Farmer, said in a speech read on behalf of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

"We pause also to remember the 38 Indonesians and 76 people from other countries who were killed in that dreadful attack."

Security was tight with scores of police guarding the area in the provincial capital of Bali, a Hindu enclave in mostly Muslim Indonesia.

On Saturday night, there had also been a candle-lit vigil at the site of the bombings in Kuta, while commemoration ceremonies were held in Australia as well.

Three Islamic militants – Imam Samudra, Amrozi and Mukhlas, also known as Ali Gufron – are on death row for the bombings.

Indonesia's attorney general said in August his office would wait until after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in September to execute the men, who have refused to seek clemency from Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and said they want to die as martyrs.

Indonesia has not suffered a major bomb attack since 2005, when suicide attacks on Bali beachside restaurants killed 20. (Additional reporting by Andreas Ismar in Jakarta; Writing by Ed Davies; Editing by Jerry Norton)