Joe GallopSome of London’s best known sports and music venues were lit up last night, 7 January, as part of the #LightItBlue campaign in support of the NHS and frontline workers.
From 6-9pm, historic buildings, major entertainment arenas and sports stadiums were illuminated in the capital as a gesture of thanks to medical and support staff. Among the buildings to be lit up were The O2 arena, Wembley Stadium, London Stadium and the Eventim Apollo.
The #LightItBlue campaign has been organised by mental health non-profit organisation Make It Blue, formed in March last year by members of the live events industry.
Make It Blue director of strategy and engagement Tim Owen said, “With the support of the mayor of London, we want to light the city blue as a public demonstration of continued support and admiration for all those working under immense pressures to look after Covid-19 and other emergency patients.
“Knowing the best thing the rest of us can do is to stay safe at home, we’ve used our communication networks to organise this campaign and are concentrating on locations that can be programmed or switched on remotely.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said, “It is a very challenging time for our city and nation, and we owe a great debt to our NHS and key workers who are working so incredibly hard to serve our city. By lighting up buildings in blue in their honour, our capital is again standing together to thank them for their tremendous efforts.”