Heydar Aliyev Center to be lit up blue to commemorate UN Day

/By AzerNews/

By Amina Nazarli

Over 150 iconic monuments, buildings, museums, bridges and other landmarks in more than 45 countries around the world will be lit in blue – the official color of the United Nations – as part of the "Turn the World into UN Blue" global campaign to commemorate UN Day and the 70th anniversary of the United Nations on October 24.

Azerbaijan will also join the campaign, as a new architectural symbol of Baku-- the Heydar Aliyev Center --will turn UN Blue.

"Participating in this campaign offers Azerbaijan and all Azerbaijanis the unique opportunity to showcase commitment to the UN principles of dignity and prosperity for all. We are pleased to support this UN campaign by lighting up the Center," said Anar Alakbarov, the director of the Heydar Aliyev Center.

Located in Baku, the futuristic Heydar Aliyev Center is recognized as a world masterpiece of architecture and has immediately grown into the signature architectural landmark of modern Baku.

In 2012, this center was mentioned among the ten most attractive new construction projects by U.S.-based Business Insider magazine while the Architectural Digest, created a list of the world's most remarkable architectural landmarks, placing the Heydar Aliyev Center in the top five.

The building won the London Design Museum award in 2014. The building’s designer, Zaha Hadid, was the first female winner at the contest and the winner of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize.

Other participants include Russia's Hermitage Museum, the ancient city of Petra in Jordan, the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, Edinburgh Castle and Westminster Hall in the United Kingdom, Table Mountain in South Africa, Japan's SkyTree Tower and the Alhambra in Spain, among many others.

World famous landmarks from Australia's Sydney Opera House to the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, from the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro to the Empire State Building in New York, will all be lit blue.

The United Nations Headquarters in New York will light up for two nights, beginning the 23^rd of October, when the annual UN Day concert will be held, and concluding the following day.

"I am grateful our Member States are showing such strong enthusiasm in marking 70 years of UN support for peace, development and human rights," said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "By turning the world UN Blue for a day, we can light the way to a better tomorrow."

The global celebration will kick off in New Zealand and then Australia with the lighting of the Sydney Opera House at dusk, and from there a wave of UN Blue will move across countries and continents as monuments around the world take part in the international event.