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Around Europe - News from Member States - 09/05/2007

London Eye lights up in colours of the European flag

Palace of Westminister and Big Ben clock tower

One of London's most famous attractions, the London Eye, was lit up on 9 May in the colours of the EU flag, as part of the UK celebrations of Europe Day.

The yellow and blue lights came on at dusk and were visible until dawn. They were accompanied by performances from the German School of London Choir and the London Bulgarian Choir. Romanian violinist Tudor Andrei, resident artist of the Romanian Cultural Institute in London, also played in one of the Eye's capsules.

As part of the Europe Day activities, Europe Minister Geoff Hoon and German Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger visited a school in West London to encourage education links with other EU schools.

Also, the European Commission Head of Media, Anthony Gooch, spoke about the future challenges for the EU at the opening of the London School of Economics European Week.

Europe Day marks the historic speech on 9 May 1950 by French foreign minister Robert Schuman, who called for European countries to combine their economic resources, in a bid to avoid future wars. The Schuman Declaration was the inspiration for the creation of the European Union.

Click here for more information about Europe Day: http://europa.eu/abc/symbols/9-may/euday_en.htm