'Happy birthday': Eiffel Tower pays tribute to UNESCO
FILE PHOTO: International leaders pose for a family picture during the 75th anniversary celebrations of The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, November 12, 2021. Julien de Rosa/ Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Paris paid tribute to UNESCO with an Eiffel Tower light show on Friday to celebrate the 75th birthday of the United Nations' cultural and scientific agency.
In a sign of the French capital's friendship towards the organisation it has hosted since 1946, the tower displayed the words "75 years" alongside the UNESCO logo, a stylised Greek temple and "symbol of hope for the creation of a peaceful world," according to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
The light show was part of a wider ceremony which included the visits of over 20 heads of state and a projection of works by the Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado at the body's headquarters.
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay speaks during the 75th anniversary celebrations of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, November 12, 2021. Julien de Rosa/ Pool via REUTERS
The agency, founded in the ashes of World War Two to protect humanity's common cultural inheritance, is best known for designating and protecting archaeological and heritage sites, from the Galapagos Islands to the tombs of Timbuktu.
Audrey Azoulay, a former French culture minister, was elected to a second four-year term as its director-general earlier this week.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex speaks during the 75th anniversary celebrations of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, November 12, 2021. Julien de Rosa/ Pool via REUTERS
(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Richard Chang and Jonathan Oatis)
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez gives a speech during the 75th anniversary celebrations of The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, November 12, 2021. Julien de Rosa/ Pool via REUTERSEiffel Tower is seen in the background as International leaders pose for a family picture during the 75th anniversary celebrations of The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, France, November 12, 2021. Julien de Rosa/ Pool via REUTERS
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