New York Lights the Way for the Summer Olympicsby Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger 08 Aug 2008 12:20 PM New York is sizzling hot... with Olympic fever. Despite the fact that the Summer Games are taking place a half a world away (and technically the Opening Ceremonies are already over), beginning tonight New York's Empire State Building will pay tribute to the Olympics by illuminating the four sides of the famed tower with the colors of countries' flags. For the next 16 nights, the world's most famous building (well, one of them anyway) will honor the top 66 countries (based on the number of athletes on each national team) using colored plastic gels over 182 floodlights. Tonight, the north side of the Empire State Building will have the colors of the French flag, the west side will have the colors of Britain's Union Jack, the south side will showcase Portugal, and the east will be green, white and orange for India. The colors of the U.S. and Chinese flags will not adorn the tower until the final night, August 24th. The building's general manager says the special lights are intended to be "another source of pride for the athletes and their countries taking part in the Summer Games." He also noted that the undertaking is historic in nature in that it will be the first time the skyscraper will have separate color schemes on each of its four sides. What's more, changing the lights is no small task. The tower's manager says it takes six hours and multiple teams comprised of six electricians to change the gels to different colors. At 102 stories tall the Empire State Building is the tallest building in New York, soaring 1,454 feet above Manhattan. It has been illuminated to commemorate holidays, events and causes since 1932, but managers say this latest effort is the most ambitious by far. Just one more reason I would love to live in New York. Residents and visitors get your cameras ready for the light show because building managers say they don't know the next time they will undertake such a colorful project. Planning a trip to New York? Check out these other Big Apple-related articles: New York's Must-See Attractions---The Statue of Liberty How To Eliminate Waiting in Long Lines For Lady Liberty Summer Travel: Tourism Heats Up in New York One More Reason to Visit New York City Traveling to New York? Think Broadway New York's Must-See Attractions---The Empire State Building Little People in the Big Apple: Central Park Zoo and FAO Schwartz Little People in the Big Apple: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Patriotic Travel Destinations-Taking A Cruise of New York Where To Get Your Chocolate Fix In New York Summer in New York: Superheroes Invade Gotham Once in a Lifetime Travel Opportunity in New York City Learn more about Michele Cheplic  Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Relevanttravel tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags Empire State Building, new york, Summer Olympics Discuss this article
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