From the Sydney Opera House in Australia to the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, more than 200 of the world’s most iconic landmarks will be lit United Nations blue when the sun sets on Friday October 23 to mark its 70th anniversary.
“Under the initiative turn the world UN Blue, about 200 of the most iconic landmarks ... in over 60 countries have agreed to be turned blue,” Xinhua quoted Cristina Gallach, UN under-secretary-general for communications and public information, as saying at a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York on Monday.
Gallach said it was hoped that the light show will help highlight the theme of the UN’s 70th anniversary celebrations: strong UN, better world.
She added that organizers have been asked to ensure that the event is as energy efficient as possible, in keeping with the UN’s commitment to the environment.
“We have requested local authorities and others to ensure that the energy consumed is minimal and that this blue lighting operation has to have green in mind,” she said.
Other iconic landmarks to be illuminated include the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, Russia’s Hermitage Museum, the ancient city of Petra in Jordan, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy.
The United Nations has its own official shade of light blue, which is used to identify the organization around the world. UN peacekeepers are unofficially known as blue helmets and blue berets, and the color also forms the background of the UN flag.
The Empire State Building in New York City, the seat of UN Headquarters, will also join the program to turn UN blue.
October 24, 1945 marks the day the UN came into existence when a majority of the UN’s 51 founding members ratified the UN Charter in San Francisco.
With the ratification of this founding document, including the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the global organization officially came into being.
