BC PLACE LIT “BLUE” TO SUPPORT WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS DAY
March 30th, 2012
March 30, 2012
Vancouver, BC: The new BC Place will join other famous sites around the world including the Empire State Building, CN Tower, Great Buddha in Japan, Niagara Falls, and the Sydney Opera House in the Autism Speaks “Light It Up Blue” campaign on Monday, April 2nd, in support of World Autism Awareness Day.
The 36-foot tall Northern Lights Display at BC Place will be lit “blue” to “shine a light on Autism” – a condition affecting 70 million people worldwide.
“LIGHT IT UP BLUE” DISPLAY FOR WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS DAY
Date:
Monday, April 2nd, 2012
Times:
MORNING 5:30AM to Sunrise
EVENING Sunset to 11:00PM
Autism Speaks was founded in February 2005 by Bob and Suzanne Wright, grandparents of a child with autism. Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that inhibits a person's ability to communicate and develop social relationships, and is often accompanied by behavioral challenges.
Autism spectrum disorders are diagnosed in one in 110 children; one in 70 boys in the United States, affecting four times as many boys as girls. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called autism a national public health crisis whose cause and cure remain unknown.
The mission of Autism Speaks is to change the future for all who struggle with autism spectrum disorders. Autism Speaks is dedicated to funding global biomedical research into the causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for autism; to raising public awareness about autism and its effects on individuals, families, and society; and to bringing hope to all who deal with the hardships of this disorder. For more information visit www.lightitupblue.org
About the “Northern Lights Display” at BC Place
The stadium roof façade – known as the Northern Lights Display - utilizes 1700 ‘ETFE’ panels, stacked four rows high, and 6,800 linear feet of energy-efficient LED lights to create customizable lighting displays. ETFE is a semi-transparent material that allows sunlight into the stadium during the day, but it also contains metal dots called “frits” that reflect the LED light displays at night. Together with the new 38,000 square metre roof at BC Place roof, the Northern Lights Display enables a wide range of both static and dynamic programming, with a total of more than 26,000 addressable lighting elements.
BC Place has utilised the entire roof to promote events (orange for BC Lions, blue for Vancouver Whitecaps), seasonal and holiday displays (red and green at Christmas), and for community and charitable organizations, such as illuminating pink on ‘Pink Shirt’ day to create awareness for anti-bullying, red for AIDS awareness, purple for Epilepsy Awareness Day, and more. Visit www.bcplace.com/roof-lights for more information.
About BC Place
BC Place is the largest sports, exhibition and entertainment venue of its kind in British Columbia, hosting the province’s most notable events including the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. An all-new BC Place reopened in September 2011 after completing a major revitalization that included the installation of the largest cable-supported retractable roof of its kind in the world. Today, BC Place is home to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC MLS franchise, the BC Lions Football Club and the BC Sports Hall of Fame. BC Place is an important generator of economic activity in British Columbia, hosting world-class entertainment events, professional and amateur sport, community gatherings and exhibitions. For more information, please visit www.bcplace.com