Downtown Raleigh lights up blue and yellow in solidarity with Ukraine
Raleigh’s downtown buildings and public facilities will be lit in blue and yellow light to support Ukraine.
City buildings will be lit the colors of the Ukrainian flag starting Wednesday and through the weekend, said Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin, who’s encouraging private businesses to do the same.
That includes the Shimmer Wall on the side of the Raleigh Convention Center, the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts and the Raleigh Municipal Building.
Raleigh has many connections to Ukraine and this gesture is an important sign of solidarity, she said.
“I think that this really shows that even though this is halfway around the world, we’re still connected, and it’s still impacting people in our community,” Baldwin said. “So this is really meant to be a show of support and solidarity for the people living in that country and fleeing that country.”
On Tuesday, as President Joe Biden addressed the nation and with Russian tanks approaching the capital city of Kyiv, the United Nations reported 136 civilian deaths, though the actual number was thought to be much higher, the Associated Press reported.
Roughly 5,000 Russian soldiers had been killed or captured, while Ukraine did not provide troop losses, the Associated Press reported.
Baldwin said the idea to light downtown came out of a conversation with Apex Mayor Jacques Gilbert.
On Monday, Gov. Roy Cooper tweeted the North Carolina Executive Mansion was also lit blue and yellow to symbolize support.
Raleigh joins other cities lighting up their downtown skylines including Charlotte, New York City, Atlanta, Kansas City and others.
This story was originally published March 2, 2022 at 1:35 PM.
