Philips, the global leader in lighting has today unveiled a stunning lighting makeover of the historic, world-recognized Gateway of India in Mumbai. The lighting is based around a new, one-of-a-kind LED system, providing a palette of 16 million colors that can be computer-programmed to create inspiring lighting shows.
 
The new lighting at Mumbai’s most striking monument will provide eye-catching displays to the 5.1 million foreign tourists who visit each year, in addition to further boosting its image as a symbol of the city for the city’s 12 million residents.
 
The Gateway of India project is an example of city branding in practice – one of 12 key trends identified by PSFK Labs in its recent ‘Future of Light’ report. Brett Renfer, Senior Technologist at the architecture and design organization Rockwell Group explains this trend: “As cities are looking at the ways their skylines and different areas look at night, they’re looking to lighting to transform and shift people around. It’s a great way for cities to be seen from this huge scale, like ‘we’re active, we’re on, and we’re excited about what’s happening’.”
 
The Gateway of India is the latest world-renowned site to be transformed by Philips. Other iconic city landmarks to have been lit up include: the Bay Bridge in San Francisco; the Empire State Building in the USA; the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, which links Asia and Europe; the Montparnasse Tower in Paris; the Dragon Bridge in Da Nang, Vietnam; India Gate in New Delhi; and the London Eye.
 
An image gallery of all of these projects is included in this release, along with further details of how lighting is helping to bring these city symbols to life for residents and tourists, either year-round or to celebrate special occasions:
 
•         Empire State Building, New York, USA
 
New lighting from Philips debuted in November 2012 with the gift of a live light show to the city of New York, synchronized with two songs from Grammy award-winning artist Alicia Keys.
 
•         Bosphorus Bridge, Istanbul, Turkey
 
The bridge which connects Asia with Europe was illuminated by Philips as a part of the Istanbul’s efforts to celebrate becoming European Cultural Capital for 2010.
 
•         Bay Bridge, San Francisco, USA
 
More than 50 million people are expected to see the 1.8 mile long Bay Bridge be lit with continuously changing patterns, delivering $100 million in additional revenue to local businesses through tourism.
 
•         India Gate, Delhi, India 
 
Lighting up India’s most famous national monument has helped the people of Delhi to enjoy the memorial in vivid white colour during night time, while the nearby fountains are lit by an array of colourful LEDs.
 
•         London Eye, London, UK
 
Situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, the London Eye is the world’s largest observation wheel and is visited by more than 10,000 people daily. Philips LED lighting gives the London Eye the cost-effective ability to display precise colors for corporate clients and special occasions, visible from more than a mile away.
 
•         Montparnasse Tower, Paris, France
 
The tower is lit up every night, with different scenarios to suit the seasons and special occasions. Videographers and painters have used the lighting as a symbol of modernity, creativity and movement to celebrate The White Night (La Nuit Blanche) and the Music Festival (La Fete de la Musique).
 
•         Dragon Bridge, Da Nang, Vietnam

More than 2,500 Philips Color Kinetics LED lighting fixtures illuminate the bridge, which is shaped like a dragon and breathes fire or spits water to mark special occasions.