What a year!
The Empire State Building hosted a ton of special events and guests throughout 2023. From scientists to beauty queens – and even a horse! – we’ve rounded up some of our favorite moments at our world-famous Observatory Experience.
See below for 2023’s most iconic moments!
JANUARY
The Empire's New Clothes
To complete its $165 million reimagination, the Empire State Building Observatory unveiled brand new Observatory host uniforms in partnership with fashion designer Peyman Umay. The Observatory staff celebrated their new threads in a private lighting ceremony where they lit the building in “City View Blue” on Jan. 24. The new uniforms were featured in an article in the New York Times.
The New Miss Universe
The Empire State Building hosted a photo opportunity with newly crowned Miss Universe R’Bonney Gabriel on Jan. 17. The Houston native toured the exhibits before she posed on the building’s 86th and 102nd Floor Observatories. The visit went viral on the ESB TikTok.
FEBRUARY
Model Behavior
Model Ashley Graham kicked off New York Fashion Week at the Empire State Building with a special lighting ceremony on Feb. 9. After the ceremony, the model toured the exhibits and enjoyed the building’s 103rd Floor!
P!NK Friday
Grammy Award-winning singer P!NK visited the Empire State Building for a lighting ceremony and release party for her new album, TRUSTFALL on Feb. 17. P!NK answered questions in a private Q&A with fans on the building’s 80th Floor and performed songs from the album which included “Never Gonna Not Dance Again,” that provided the soundtrack for a dynamic ESB music-to-light spectacular.
MARCH
SCREAM TEAM
The cast of Scream VI – Devyn Nekoda, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Liana Liberato, Josh Segarra, Jack Champion, and Tony Revolori – visited the Empire State Building Observatory to celebrate the movie’s New York City premiere on March 6. The film’s slasher Ghostface kept a close eye on the cast in this viral TikTok moment.
TWICE TAKES THE TOP
K-pop sensation TWICE lit up the Empire State Building in their signature colors – apricot and neon magenta – to celebrate the healing power of music with Musicians on Call on March 10. That evening, the group answered fan questions in a livestream from the top of the Empire State Building.
APRIL
ESB GOES MOBILE
Have you ever looked up at the Empire State Building’s tower lights and wondered what they mean? ESB took its world-famous tower lights to text this April to keep fans informed in New York City and beyond. Text LIGHTS to 274-16 for real-time updates to stay in the know!
ESB IN ORANGE
Singer, actress, and TV host Adrienne Bailon-Houghton visited the Empire State Building for a special lighting ceremony to honor Infertility Awareness Week with Progyny on April 25. That evening, ESB lit up orange for the cause.
MAY
SKY-HIGH SCIENCE
Celebrity scientist Bill Nye visited the Empire State Building for a photo opportunity and experiment demos on the building’s 86th Floor Observatory on May 8. After the visit, Bill and the Besties went viral on TikTok.
Top Dog
Buddy Holly – the 2023 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show winner – took a victory lap at the Empire State Building Observatory on May 10. The Empire State Building lit up purple and gold for the annual dog show on May 9.
Bubbles and Bridles
To celebrate the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic’s return to New York City, the Empire State Building lit up Veuve Clicquot Yellow on May 31. That morning, Veuve Clicquot team captain Nacho Figueras flipped the switch in a lighting ceremony with polo horse, Max.
JUNE
WE'RE #1 – AGAIN!
The iconic Empire State Building Observatory achieved the coveted number one spot on the list of Top Attractions in the U.S. for the second consecutive year – and placed fifth worldwide – in Tripadvisor’s 2023 Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best.
MASTER CHEF
Celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsay toured the Empire State Building Observatory and cooked an Empire State Reuben sandwich on the building’s iconic 86th Floor on June 14. The visit went viral as Gordon and the Besties recreated an iconic “Hell’s Kitchen” parody moment at the building.
AND JUST LIKE THAT...
The Empire State Building hosted a lighting ceremony to celebrate the season two premiere of “And Just Like That” and the 25th anniversary of “Sex and the City” with the shows’ star, Sarah Jessica Parker, on June 21. After the ceremony, SJP posed for photos on the building’s 86th Floor Observatory.
JULY
CHAMPION'S GLOW
Spice Girl Melanie C lit the Empire State Building in green, white, and purple to honor the Wimbledon Championships on July 14. After the ceremony, Melanie toured the exhibits and posed for photos on the building’s iconic 86th Floor Observatory.
HIGH KEY
The Empire State Building hosted singer and rapper Anderson .Paak for a photo opportunity at the Observatory to celebrate the launch of Expedia’s OneKey on July 18. That evening, the Empire State Building shined its world-famous tower lights in yellow, blue, and red to celebrate the launch.
AUGUST
JERSDAY
The cast of Jersey Shore took over the Empire State Building to celebrate the premiere of “Jersey Shore: Family Vacation” on Aug. 3. The cast took in the iconic views, recreated viral moments from the show, and answered questions from the Besties on TikTok.
THROUGH THE YEARS
The WABC-TV news anchors and New York City Mayor Eric Adams lit the Empire State Building to celebrate the network’s 75th anniversary in a special lighting ceremony on Aug. 10. To honor the milestone anniversary, WABC News conducted live segments at the building throughout the day.
ON TOP OF THE WORLD
Football running back Dalvin Cook visited the Empire State Building to celebrate his new contract with the New York Jets on Aug. 28. The visit garnered impressive media attention with articles in the New York Post, NFL, and NBC Sports, among others.
SEPTEMBER
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Billy Bush of EXTRA TV visited the Empire State Building for a special lighting ceremony to celebrate the show’s 30th anniversary on Sept. 4. After the ceremony, Billy was joined by “The Bachelorette’s” Charity Lawson and Dotun Olubeko on the 86th Floor Observatory for an interview that aired on EXTRA TV.
GREENLIGHTS
On Sept. 12, Matthew McConaughey visited the Empire State Building for a surprise lighting ceremony to celebrate nearly 100 weeks of his memoir “Greenlights” on the New York Times Best Seller list. The actor arrived at the building for what he thought was a photo opportunity when he was surprised by his wife, Camila, who announced he would light the building green to mark the milestone achievement and celebrate the Greenlights Grant Initiative. The surprise was broadcast on “Entertainment Tonight,” followed by an interview with Matthew on the 86th Floor Observatory.
KICK-OFF FIESTA
The Empire State Building kicked off Hispanic Heritage Month with a lighting ceremony and special concert with Puerto Rican singer Yandel on Sept. 21. That evening, Yandel debuted his new single, “Borracho y Loco,” in his performance on the building’s 80th Floor.
OCTOBER
45TH ANNUAL ESBRU
Runners from around the globe ascended the 1,576 stairs in the 45th Annual Empire State Building Run-Up on Oct. 4. Watch the livestream of the finish line on YouTube!
TEAM SPIRIT
The Empire State Building partnered with GLAAD and COTY/Sally Hansen for a special lighting ceremony to honor Spirit Day with actress Laverne Cox on Sept. 18. That evening, the building lit up purple for the cause.
NOVEMBER
THE CLIMB
Academy Award winner and 30 Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto scaled the Empire State Building to announce the band’s Seasons 2024 World Tour – their first headline tour in five years – on Nov. 9. After the historic climb, Leto made appearances on The Today Show and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to talk about his experience.
ENTER THE WU-TANG
Hip-hop legends RZA, Method Man, and Masta Killa of The Wu-Tang Clan lit the Empire State Building in black and yellow to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of their debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) on Nov. 9.
DECEMBER
HOLIDAY PARTY
The Empire State Building debuted its annual Holiday Music-to-Light Spectacular set to Jimmy Fallon’s new holiday song “Wrap Me Up” featuring Meghan Trainor on Dec. 19. The “Tonight Show” host visited the building to flip the famous light switch and celebrate with a special fan Q&A on Dec. 7.
PAINT THE TOWN PURPLE
The Empire State Building celebrated the premiere of the new “The Color Purple” film with a special lighting ceremony and a photo opportunity at the Observatory Experience on Dec. 12. The film’s director Blitz Bazawule; stars Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, and Fantasia Barrino; and the star of the original film and producer of the 2023 adaptation, Oprah Winfrey, flipped the ceremonial switch to light the building purple in celebration of the film’s release in theaters on Dec. 25.
RETURN TO OLYMPUS
The cast of “Percy Jackson” visited the Empire State Building to celebrate the premiere of the anticipated television show on Dec. 12. Scenes from the new show feature the Empire State Building and are available on Disney+.
Until next year!
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