London Eye Lights Up For World Diabetes Day

Main Category: Diabetes
Article Date: 13 Nov 2007 - 4:00 PDT

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The London Eye was lit up in blue last Friday to mark the beginning of celebrations of the first UN-observed World Diabetes Day, on Wednesday 14 November.

The London Eye was the first of some of the world's most iconic monuments to be illuminated in blue. It will continue to be lit up every night up to and including World Diabetes Day on Wednesday, along with the Shell Tower in London on to which moving images and text are being projected.

Other monuments to be illuminated include the Empire State Building, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House, the Tokyo Tower, Niagara Falls, the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, the Library of Alexandria in Egypt, and the world's tallest building, Taipei 101, in Taiwan.

"Diabetes UK is delighted to be supporting World Diabetes Day and the lighting up of famous monuments across the world," said Diabetes UK Chief Executive Douglas Smallwood.

"Diabetes is one of the biggest global health challenges of our time. Last year's UN resolution was an extremely meaningful step in working with governments and communities across the world to ensure that the millions of people with the condition get the best care and treatment possible. We look forward to taking this forward and making a real difference to the lives of people with diabetes."

The famous monuments and natural landmarks are being lit in blue because the international symbol for diabetes awareness is a blue circle, so the London Eye is a particularly appropriate choice.

http://www.diabetes.org.uk