Spanish capital goes blue for World Oceans Day

Press Release Date: June 7, 2017

Location: Madrid

Contact:

Marta Madina | email: mmadina@oceana.org | tel.: Marta Madina

Iconic building in Madrid illuminated to mark international day

Oceana first to ever project images on Spanish parliament’s facade

Spain’s parliament will screen for the first time underwater videos from Oceana’s expeditions to mark World Oceans Day on Thursday. Madrid’s landmark building, the City Hall, will also turn blue as part of the city’s celebrations. Oceana hopes other capital cities will follow this initiative to create a European-wide movement for the greater protection of the world’s oceans. 

“On World Oceans Day we’re going to see Madrid in a different light; in blue and leading the way for other capital cities to mark World Oceans Day. The oceans cover two-thirds of Earth and provide food, income and trade for billions of people but overfishing is the biggest threat facing the oceans right now. By lighting up Madrid’s most iconic buildings, Spain is showing it is serious about our oceans and we hope next year many more cities across Europe will join Madrid in celebrating this special day”, said Lasse Gustavsson, executive director of Oceana in Europe.

From 10pm on Thursday 8th June, videos of five marine areas will be publically screened for one night only. Video footage of Cabrera National Park, which is under consideration for further enlargement, and El Hierro, where there is an initiative to create Southern Europe’s first ever marine national park, will be projected onto the Parliament. Additionally, never-before-seen underwater images of the beautiful Atlantic Islands of Galicia, Doñana in Andalusia and the Mallorca Channel will also be shown to mark the occasion.

You can find the live streaming of the event on Oceana Europe’s Facebook page and the latest updates on our Twitter account.