Worldwide sympathy for Brussels shone bright on Tuesday night.
Countries such as France, Mexico, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates and many others showed their support by projecting Belgium’s national colors of black, yellow and red upon iconic landmarks.
The act was a global show of solidarity following the terrorist attacks in Brussels that killed more than 30 people and injured about 260 others.
Some of the European monuments that were lighted included the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the Royal Palace of Amsterdam, Piazza del Campidoglio and the Trevi Fountain in Rome, the Palace of Culture and Science in Poland and Nagyerdei Stadion in Hungary. The European Commission headquarters in Brussels also paid tribute to victims by projecting the flag onto its building.
Outside of Europe, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the monument of Los Arcos in Guadalajara, Mexico, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Sao Paulo and the Sky Tower in New Zealand also boasted Belgium’s colors.
Stateside, New York City showed its fair share of care. City Hall glowed with Belgium’s colors, while the Empire State Building took a different approach and remained dark as a show of sympathy.
The spire of New York’s One World Trade Center experienced a small technical difficulty, causing it to appear blue and white instead of black and yellow, for a period on Tuesday night. NBC reported that a Port Authority spokesperson said the spire was lit at 10 percent white, which was supposed to darken the structure sufficiently so it appeared black. The lighting was later corrected so black, yellow and red were visible, according to the spokesperson.
The worldwide sentiment on Tuesday night was perhaps best summed up in a simple tweet from Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (and translated by the New York Times):
“We are one with our southern neighbors in mourning and grief, but also in determination.”
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