The building of the Heydar Aliyev Center to be lit up blue – the official colour of UN

On October 24, within a global campaign called “Turn the world UN blue” to mark the Day of United Nations Organization and on the occasion of the 70^th anniversary of UN, over 150 symbolic monuments, buildings, museums, bridges and other significant structures in over 45 countries will be lit up blue – the official colour of the United Nations Organization.

Resulting from a close cooperation between the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and UN’s country board, the Heydar Aliyev Center – Baku’s new architectural symbol – will be lit up UN’s blue colour. From Australia’s Sydney Opera House to Great Pyramids in Giza city of Egypt, from the monument to Christ the Redeemer in Rio-de-Janeiro to Empire State Building in New-York city, a number of well-known monuments throughout the world will be lit up blue. Among the participants of the action are Russia’s State Hermitage Museum, Jordan’s ancient Petra city, Italy’s Pizza Tower, Edinburgh Castle and Central Hall Westminster in the Great Britain, Table Mountain in South Africa, Japan’s SkyTree Tower, Spain’s Alhambra Palace and many more other significant monuments.

Saying “I’m grateful to member-states for the great passion shown towards celebrating the 70^th anniversary of the support provided by UN for peace, development and human rights”, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said: “By painting the world in UN’s blue colour for a day, we could light up a way towards a better tomorrow.”

The global event will start in New Zeeland, then it will continue with lighting up the Sydney Opera House in Australia in the twilight and, finally, as world monuments join this international event, UN’s blue wave will travel countries and continents.

“Participation in this campaign gives us a chance to demonstrate the loyalty of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis to UN principles of decent life and prosperity. We are pleased to support UN’s action by lighting up the Center’s building”, - said Director of the Heydar Aliyev Center Anar Alakbarov.

Traditional UN Day concert will be organized in New-York and, from the 23^rd to 24^th October, the UN Headquarters will, during two days, be lit up blue.

The building of the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku is known as a pearl of the world architecture and, since the first day, has become an architectural symbol of the modern Baku. The Center’s building was listed, in 2012, among the most attractive new buildings of Business Insider Magazine of USA, and on the list of the most beautiful architectural monuments of the world prepared by Architectural Digest, the building of the Heydar Aliyev Center was among the first five. The building of the Heydar Aliyev Center won the main award of the London Design Museum’s “Design of the Year 2014” contest. Project’s architect Zaha Hadid was the first woman to win the first place in this contest and is a laureate of influential Pritzker Architecture Prize.