Although they didn’t make it to the World Cup, the United States is marking the start of the world's biggest football competition by lighting up New York City’s Empire State Building with the colors of the 32 national teams in the tournament.
On June 13, 2018, the 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Manhattan kicked off the World Cup with a dynamic light show to celebrate the 32 teams participating in the most popular international sporting event, reports 24 Sata on June 14, 2018.
The light show began precisely at sunset beginning with the colors of Russia. The rotation then continued with each group alphabetically:
Group A: Russia, Uruguay, Egypt, Saudi Arabia
Group B: Portugal, Spain, Iran, Morocco
Group C: France, Peru, Denmark, Australia
Group D: Argentina, Croatia, Iceland, Nigeria
Group E: Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia
Group F: Germany, Mexico, Sweden, South Korea
Group G: Belgium, England, Tunisia, Panama
Group H: Poland, Colombia, Senegal, Japan
The Empire State Building is lit up tonight in a rotation of colors representing the 32 countries participating in this year's World Cup. https://t.co/OCgs2WsTB9 pic.twitter.com/c8AYHqq15R
— ABC News (@ABC) June 14, 2018
The light show continued through 2:00 am Eastern Time.
"The Empire State Building is excited to share the gift of this new light show on the eve of one of the biggest sporting events in the world," said Anthony E. Malkin, Chairman and CEO of Empire State Realty Trust on PR Newswire. "We wish every participating team the best of luck, and look forward to lighting up the New York City skyline with the colors of the world."
The World Cup begins today with an opening ceremony before the 17:00 kick off between Russia and Saudi Arabia.
