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Lithuania joined the “Turn the World Blue” UN70 Campaign on October 24 at Gediminas Castle Tower in Vilnius. The Nordic countries celebrated this historic ‘blue’ event, too
To mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, and UN Day on October 24, UNHeadquarters in York City was lit up in blue for two nights, namely, on October 23 when the UN concert was held, and on October 24, UN Day. Pictured in front of UN Headquarters, is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with his wife,Yoo Soon-taek (first from left), together with Mogens Lykketoft, second from right, Danish President of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly, with his wife, Mette Holm, on October 23. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe.
On October 24, 350 monuments, buildings, museums, bridges and other landmarks in nearly 75 countries around the world lit up blue –the official color of the United Nations, as part of a global campaign to commemorate UN Day and the 70th anniversary of the United Nations.
In Lithuania, Gediminas Castle Tower with its flag showing the coat of arms of Lithuania lit up in blue in the City of Vilnius.
The Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland participated in the “Turn the World Blue” campaign, also. The Little Mermaid Statue, Nikolaj Kunsthal, and Tivoli Gardens turned blue in Copenhagen, Denmark and the same thing happened in Helsinki Cathedral in Helsinki, Finland, too. City Hall in Oslo, Norway went blue to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. In Sweden, the Globin Arena in Stockholm turned blue as part of the global campaign initiated by the United Nations, and the Prime Minister’s Office in Reykjavik, Iceland turned blue, too, on UN Day, October 24.
As part of this international event, images and videos of the lighted structures were part of press and social outreach, and was seen by millions of people around the world. Citizens were also asked to get involved and take action by sharing their “choose blue” images using the hashtag #UN70 and #UNBlue.
As the UN pointed out, “participation in the Turn the World Blue campaign offered the unique opportunity to help unite global citizens, promote the message of peace, development, and human rights and show-cased commitment to the ideals and principles of dignity and prosperity for all.”
This initiative was led by the UN Department of Public Information and was a collaborative effort to make the public aware of UN Day, and the 70th anniversary of the founding of the UN, according to Under- Secretary-General for Public Information, Cristina Gallach, at a recent press conference at United Nations Headquarters in New York .
This global celebration was kicked off in New Zealand. and then Australia with the lighting of the Sydney Opera House., and from there a wave of UN Blue moved across countries and continents. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon commented.
“I am grateful our Member States are showing such strong enthusiasm. This global celebration was kicked off in New Zealand. and then Australia with the lighting of the Sydney Opera House., and from there a wave of UN Blue moved across countries and continents. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon commented.
“I am grateful our Member States are showing such strong enthusiasm. By turning the world UN Blue for a day, we can light the way to a better tomorrow” he added.
The UN Day Concert featured the KBS Traditional Music Orchestra and UN Messenger of Peace Lang Lang in the General Assembly Hall. In addition, the Harlem Gospel Choir, Davichi, Kim Hae-sook and Conductor Lee Jun-ho performed at the event, as well. The program was presented by the United Nations in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations in New York and the Korean Broadcasting System. A group of young school children from the UN International School (UN Headquarters) made opening remarks at the concert, as well.
Shown here is a striking blue image of Gediminas Castle Tower in Vilnius photographed by Milda Vaitkeviciute in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the UN and UN Day on October 24.
Gitana Merkeliene celebrated UN Day with her husband Nerijus Merkelis at Gediminas Castle Tower in Vilnius.
In Lithuania, Jurate Landsbergyte, Executive Director, the United Nations Association of Lithuania (UNA-Lithuania) which is a member of the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) with over l00 UNAs from around the world, celebrated the “UN Blue” UN 70 Campaign, on October 24. On this historic date, Gediminas Castle Tower in Vilnius was lit in blue to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations and UN Day. Lithuania became a member of the United Nations on September 17, 1991, along with Estonia and Latvia.
UNA-Lithuania members, celebrated at Gediminas Castle Tower in the Old Town of Vilnius on October 24 when the tower was lit in blue, as part of the “Turn the World UN Blue” UN 70 Campaign.
In addition, Jurate Landsbergyte marked the occasion with her UNA-Lithuania colleague Zilvinas Radavicius, who attended the October 24 event at the tower, as well.
Later on, the leader of the Ukrainian folk rock group TaRuta was photographed by Leonas Markevicius and both Jurate and Zilvinas were invited to attend an Ukrainian concert where they enjoyed Ukrainian music, as well as Lithuanian partisan songs.
UNA-Lithuania got off to an early start on October 2l by organizing a special event at Vilnius City Hall Municipality to focus attention on UN Day (October 24) and the City of Vilnius , Lithuania with its outstanding floral arrangements. The idea was to discover who had the most beautiful balconies with flowers, private or public gardens, and around buildings, according to historian Zilvinas Radavicius. He visualized creating virtual gardens in a blooming Vilnius.
Jurate Landsbergyte, an internationally known organist/pianist, performed at this event, and Lithuanian journalist Gitana Merkeliene documented this event,, as well. Awards were presented to participants in this “Vilnius in bloom” event. Dalia Bardauskiene, Advisor to the Mayor of Vilnius, thanked historian Zilvinas Radavicius for his initiative and expressed appreciation to all the participants at the gathering.
Shown in this photo from left to right are historian Zilvinas Radavicius, member of UNA-Lithuania, the leader of the Ukrainian folk pop group, TaRuta and Jurate Landsbergyte, Executive Director, UNA-Lithuania. Photo: Leonas Markevicius
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