November 6th, 2012

CNN to Display Electoral Results Atop Empire State Building

Empire State Building to Utilize Brand New Lighting Technology

CNN will join forces Tuesday evening with the Empire State Building to display to New Yorkers and the network’s viewers in the United States and around the world the results of the presidential election. As each state is projected by CNN and electoral votes are allocated to the candidates, a vertical LED-illuminated “meter” located atop the spire of the building will display CNN’s running tally of the race to 270.

This occasion will mark the iconic Empire State Building’s first-ever use of their new custom LED panel technology, a state-of-the-art dynamic lighting system from Philips Color Kinetics that is unique to the Empire State Building and will allow the building’s façade and mast to change lighting scenes in real-time. The four-sided tower, which sits atop the building more than a quarter of a mile from the streets of Manhattan, will be illuminated in patriotic red, white and blue vertical stripes, while the mast will be lit in blue and in red on two sides each to represent President Obama and Gov. Romney’s respective electoral vote totals. CNN, which will exclusively shoot footage from the rooftop of a neighboring building, will air live images of the illuminated tower as the evening’s results progress. When CNN projects a winner of the presidential election, the tower lights of the Empire State Building will change color to all-blue or to all-red.

The Empire State Building celebrates many cultures and causes in the world community with iconic lightings. Its tower lights recognize key milestones, events, charitable organizations, countries and holidays, a tradition started in 1932, when a simple searchlight was used to announce the election of New York-born Franklin Delano Roosevelt as President. To honor the United States Bicentennial, the Empire State Building installed colored floodlights to illuminate the building at night, lighting up red, white and blue, leading to today’s very popular Lighting Partner program.
Tune in to CNN’s “Election Night in America” coverage beginning at 6 p.m. ET, or join the conversation on Twitter by following #CNNElection and @EmpireStateBldg. A preview photo may be found here.

Soaring 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan (from base to antenna), the Empire State Building is the “World’s Most Famous Office Building.” With new investments in infrastructure, public areas and amenities, the Empire State Building has attracted first-rate tenants in a diverse array of industries from around the world. The skyscraper’s robust broadcasting technology supports all major television and FM radio stations in the New York metropolitan market. The Empire State Building was named America’s favorite building in a poll conducted by the American Institute of Architects. The Empire State Building Observatory is one of the world’s most beloved attractions and is the region’s #1 tourist destination. For more information on the Empire State Building, please visit http://www.esbnyc.com, http://www.facebook.com/empirestatebuilding, or @EmpireStateBldg.

CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media.

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