Empire State Building Lit Up Blue to Honor Greek Olympians

On Saturday, August 4, 2012, the Empire State Building will shine its iconic lights in blue and white on the south side of the building to honor Greece’s participation to the Olympics.

On the eve of the London 2012 Olympics, the New York landmark started rotating its colors every night to salute the athletes competing in the games, according to the skyscraper’s official lighting schedule.

On most nights, different colors appear on each side of the tower, saluting countries ranging from Greece, France and Israel to Cuba and Kazakhstan.

Of the 200-plus countries and territories competing in the Olympics, about one-third will get their flags’ colors on one side of the Empire State Building during the games. The countries were chosen based on the number of athletes attending from each country.

 

The complete 2012 Olympic lighting schedule:

July 26
North side: Red, White, Blue – United States of America
West side: Red, Blue, White – Great Britain
South side: Red, White, Blue – United States of America
East side: Red, Blue, White – Great Britain

July 27
North side: Red, White, Blue – France
West side: Red, Yellow, Red – China
South side: Red, Red, Green – Portugal
East side: Green, White, Orange – India

July 28
North side: Red, White, Blue – Czech Republic
West side: Red, Blue, White – Russia
South side: Red, White, Green – Italy
East side: Green, White, Green – Nigeria

July 29
North side: Red, White, Blue – Chinese Taipei
West side: Red, Red, White – Poland
South side: Red, White, Green – Mexico
East side: Green, White, Red – Hungary

July 30
North side: Blue, White, Red – Croatia
West side: White, Red, White – Japan
South side: Green, Yellow, Green – South Africa
East side: Black, White, Red – Egypt

July 31
North side: Blue, White, Red – Netherlands
West side: Blue, Red, White – New Zealand
South side: Green, Yellow, Blue – Brazil
East side: Red, Yellow, Blue – Romania

Aug. 1
North side: Blue, White, Red – Cuba
West side: Blue, Red, White – Slovenia
South side: Yellow, Yellow, Blue – Ukraine
East side: Red, Yellow, Red – Spain

Aug. 2
North side: Red, White, Red – Denmark
West side: Blue, Red, White – Australia
South side: Blue, Yellow, Blue – Kazakhstan
East side: Yellow, Red, Black – Germany

Aug, 3
North side: Red, White, Red – Austria
West side: Red, Green, White – Belarus
South side: Blue, Yellow, Blue – Sweden
East side: White, Blue, Red – Republic of Korea

Aug. 4
North side: Red, White, Red – Canada
West side: Red, Green, White – Bulgaria
South side: Blue, White, Blue – Greece
East side: White, Blue, Red – Serbia