Pacific Park Celebrates Kobe Bryant Day with a Special Lighting of the Pacific Wheel

Published on August 15, 2024

The Santa Monica Pier Ferris Wheel will be lit purple and gold on Saturday, August 24 in recognition of Kobe Bryant Day 2024.

Los Angeles will commemorate the life of the Lakers basketball legend with Kobe Bryant Day—also known as Black Mamba Day or Mamba Day—on August 24.

The commemoration date was chosen to honor Bryant’s jersey numbers (8 and 24) and his birthday, August 23.

Kobe Bryant is considered one of the greatest players in the history of basketball. He won five NBA championships and was an 18-time All-Star and 15-time member of the All-NBA Team. He spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Tragically,  Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among nine who died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California in January 2020.

To honor Bryant and his legacy, Pacific Park will light the 90-foot-tall Ferris Wheel with dazzling displays of gold and purple in a variety of patterns and transitions, including combinations of “LA”, “24”, “8” and heart shapes.

This special lighting event will take place on the evening of Saturday, August 24. 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 Kobe Bryant Day 2024

WHEN:
Saturday, August 24
dusk (around 7:30 PM) to midnight

WHERE:
Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier

 

See the lights from home at www.pacpark.com/live.

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 @pacpark