BRAMA, Aug 16, 2004, 1:00 am ET
Column
Trip up in the lights fantastic? ESB to turn blue and gold on Ukrainian Independence Day.
— By Hanya Krill
Digital colorization of Empire State Building tower
The blue and gold colors will be lit up for Ukrainian Independence Day on August 24.
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At the ripe old adolescent age of 13 (independence came in 1991 after the breakup of the Soviet Union), Ukraine's journey into adulthood will be marked by a first time ever display of the colors of the Ukrainian flag on New York City's most popular landmark - the Empire State Building. The tower lighting is scheduled to honor Ukrainian Independence Day on August 24.
Word about this special event had been circulated around the Internet via email. The Ukrainian youth group "SUM", credited for having submitted the request to the Empire State Building, also posted an announcement in the Brama Calendar. BBC Ukrainian covered the story, as did Postup and other media companies. It's a truly momentous occasion for Ukrainians everywhere, and for the New York City area Ukrainians especially.
Digital colorization of Empire State Building tower
Blue/yellow/blue would have been wrong, or less right?
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However when I checked the tower lighting schedule on the Empire State Building (ESB) website I discovered a slight error in the color combination. Or maybe it was just a little less correct than it could have been. Either way, I decided to write to the ESB administrators to see about having it fixed.
The automated system for the tower lights allows for some variety, but generally one sees three primary tiers of lights with up to three colors being displayed. The colors are listed on the website from bottom to top as they appear from the street. When a solid color is called for, all three tiers are lit with the same shade. If two colors, then two tiers are combined for one of the colors and the third is lit with the second color.
The combination shown on the schedule for Ukraine was 'Blue/Yellow/Blue'. The colors were right, but with yellow sandwiched between the two rows of blue it was a combination better suited to represent the flags of Barbados or Sweden than that of Ukraine.
Flag of Ukraine
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Flag of Sweden
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Flag of Barbados
(Note the trident,
similar to Ukraine's
tryzub)
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A quickly emailed note pointing out the potential for confusion yielded this prompt response from the ESB lighting administrators:
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August 12, 2004 08:44:43 PM
This is the first time ever anyone asked us to honor the Ukraine. They told us those colors represented the flag. After your message we will check back with the organization that made the request. We most certainly want to properly represent the flag.
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For the record, this isn't the first time that anyone has asked the Empire State Building to display Ukraine's colors, but it is the first time they agreed to honor the request. I had personally written to them making the same request back when the ESB website was first created. And if memory serves, the diplomatic missions in New York had made a written request after independence was declared, as had other local organizations.
This is not meant to take anything away from SUM. Quite the contrary, especially since no appeal prior to theirs was successful. Congratulations to SUM for taking the initiative this year and achieving something that the rest of us could not.
As to the 2 bands of blue with yellow sandwiched in the middle, it is improbable (even impossible) for SUM to have slipped-up with the color combination. Chances are that it was just a misunderstanding or small faux pas on the part of the lighting administrators, and fortunately, one that could be easily adjusted.
I'm happy to report that a correction has already been made on the Empire State Building's website. Today the schedule shows that the Ukrainian colors will be 'Yellow/Blue/Blue' with yellow in the widest tier at the bottom and blue in the two upper tiers.
Look for the tower lights on August 24. I'll be watching for them too.
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