Cecil the lion and other endangered animals are projected on to Empire State Building in an impressive light display
Images of endangered animals were crawling and swimming across the facade of New York’s Empire State Building, as part of the first light show of its kind in ESB history. It was such an awesome display! It was also a timely reminder of the impact and devastation caused by incidents like the hunting of Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe.
I captured photos and put them all into a few animated gif images below:
Empire State Tribute To Endangered Animals
How: It was all done with 40 light cannons projecting images of endangered animals upon the Empire State Building. Design firm Obscura Digital put it together, with a cost of around $1 million, according to the NY Times.
Who put it together? It was organized by the Oceanic Preservation Society and the filmmakers of the new Discovery Channel documentary, Racing Extinction, (#RacingExtinction), an upcoming documentary about humans’ impact on threatened species. Racing Extinction is set to air in December 2015. Director Louie Psihoyos was also the director of The Cove.
160 species were featured — including Cecil, the lion that was killed by an American in early July.
You’ll notice from the videos that I couldn’t hear most of the music from where I was set up, but the show featured music from the director’s upcoming movie, Racing Extinction, according to the director’s Facebook page.
Photos of endangered animals on the Empire State Building:
160 species were featured on the Empire State Building skyscraper – here’s some in group shots:
The Empire State Building is typically lit up with colors for weekly occasions and even light shows, but this was a first.
Click the below thumbnail for a full-size image:
More videos:
More great photos of the endangered animals Empire State Building event can be found on NBC, Daily Mail, and Gothamist.
Image credits: mariacelestearraras / empirestatebldg / Visit50.com
