Greek Bicentennial Ferris Wheel Lighting at the Santa Monica Pier

Published on March 18, 2021

The Santa Monica Pier Ferris Wheel will be blue and white with a 90-foot tall animated Greek flag on Thursday, March 25 in recognition of Greece’s bicentennial.

Pacific Park will join other landmarks around the globe to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of Greek Independence on the evening of March 25th by lighting the Pacific Wheel in blue and white, a tribute to the Greek community in California and worldwide.

Greek Independence Day is a national holiday celebrated annually in Greece commemorating the date of March 25, 1821 when the Greeks began their revolution against the Ottoman Empire. This year marks the Bicentennial – 200th Anniversary of Greek Independence Day on March 25, 2021.

The Pacific Wheel will shine blue and white with a 90ft tall, animated depiction of the Greek flag and is sponsored by the United Hellenic American Societies (UHAS), the Greek Heritage Society (GHS) of Southern California, and the Greek Consulates of Los Angeles and San Francisco.

This special lighting event will take place on the evening of Thursday, March 25. The Ferris wheel lights can be seen from dusk until 11:35 PM each evening. Enjoy watching the light program online at www.pacpark.com/live.
 

WHAT:
Special Lighting of the Pacific Wheel for the Greek Bicentennial

WHEN:
Thursday, March 25
Dusk (around 7 PM) to midnight

WHERE:
Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier

 

Pacific Park regularly programs the Ferris wheel to display seasonal programing and themed light designs for holidays and special occasions. The Pacific Wheel’s state-of-the-art lighting package was installed in 2016 and can display over 1.6 million different colors and animate patterns and icons in 24 frames per second. The energy efficient LEDs on the face of the Ferris wheel are powered by solar arrays inside Pacific Park. The light programs are curated and designed by Pacific Park staff. Each design is manually animated; some designs can take hours of programming. The aim is to provide fun, high-energy, and sometimes whimsical designs to entertain guests on the Santa Monica Pier and surrounding beaches.

 

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Feature image courtesy of @sinma.shots_