Atlanta landmarks to light up in blue to honor essential workers

The Atlanta skyline — including Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the College Football Hall of Fame — with be lit up in blue on Thursday as part of an initiative to salute essential workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Light It Blue event will take place at 8 p.m. with more than 150 major sports and entertainment venues and historic landmarks and buildings in the United States participating. In Atlanta, City Hall and the Skyview Ferris Wheel also are scheduled to participate. State Farm Arena does not have the necessary lighting flexibility to participate, according to a team representative.

People are encouraged to wear blue and share images and messages on social media with the hashtag #LightItBlue.

The initiative began in the United Kingdom. Other participants in the United States include Times Square in New York, Staples Center in Los Angeles, Soldier Field in Chicago, Bank of America Plaza in Dallas, City Hall in Boston and the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

“We’ve been so inspired over the past few weeks by the cheers of our neighbors around the world — and we wanted to bring this collective gratitude to an even bigger stage here in the U.S.,” said Joe Zenas of one organizer, the Thinkwell Group, in a statement. “This is a heartfelt thank you from those of us at home to those of us who are going to work each day to keep our country going.”

Also on the list of planned participants are: