The Eiffel Tower on Tuesday, March 22, was illuminated in black, yellow, and red to represent the Belgian flag as a sign of solidarity following the deadly terror attacks in Brussels.
The Belgian capital was struck on Tuesday by a series of organized terrorist attacks. Suicide bombers at the airport and the metro station killed 31 people and injured an estimated 250.
The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, said in a statement that the Eiffel Tower display was meant to pay homage to “the victims, their loved ones and all the people of Belgium.”
“Today Europe is targeted at her heart,” the mayor stated. “Once more it is basic values that are attacked: freedom, humanism, tolerance and unshakeable commitment to democracy.”
The act of solidarity comes four months after the Brussels Grand Place was illuminated with the colors of the French flag to honor the victims of the terror attacks in Paris.
Other cities around the world have also dedicated monuments to Brussels. Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate and the courthouse in Lyon, France, were also illuminated in black, yellow, and red. New York lit up One World Trade Center with Belgian colors Tuesday night, as well.
The Eiffel Tower is widely regarded as the national symbol of France, and while it is not the nearly the tallest structure in the world, it does stand proud at 984 feet tall, though it is a full six inches shorter in the winter as the steel contracts in the cold. A monument as big and awe-inspiring as the Eiffel Tower, glowing and illuminating the night with the colors of Belgium, is a strong image to behold and a strong message to the terrorists that Europe is united and unbreakable.