Winning designs of LED challenge light up Calgary Tower amid COVID-19 pandemic

A little over a week after the organization announced its LED challenge, the Calgary Tower has already illuminated the city with two light shows designed by the public.

On March 29, the tower picked its first winner — a light show by a six-year-old girl, who wanted to “help keep people happy” with a multi-coloured design.

On Friday evening, blue, green and white lights shone across the skyline, as contest winner Adam Sheldon’s design came to life.

The light show paid homage to workers with Alberta Health Services amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The organization took to Twitter on Friday to announce the winning design.

Calgary Tower’s general manager, Katie Urness, said the light show was heartwarming to see come to life.

“We really loved this submission and our team thought it was a great idea,” Urness said.

“It’s the least we can do for all the health-care employees working hard to keep us safe.”

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In March, the tower closed its doors to the public due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Urness said the contest was created so the tower can continue to shine brightly on the city, despite the facility’s closure.

“We understand that all Calgarians are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and that self-isolation can be tough, especially for those with children at home, and we’ve seen many times how our lights can have a positive impact in the community,” Urness said.

“We came up with this contest as way to encourage fun and community spirit during these challenging times.”

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Originally slated to conduct just three light shows due to the high volume of entries, the organization has extended the contest by adding six additional dates.

“At this point, we’ve seen around 100 submissions,” Urness said.

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“We’ve seen both simple, heartwarming submissions from younger children and more sophisticated designs from adults. There have been many submissions geared toward things like strength, happiness, and community. These have been very encouraging and heartwarming to see.”

Winning light shows will now also be seen each night from April 13-18.

To enter the contest, residents can download the Calgary Tower template and colour in the white zones.

Entries should be shared on Twitter or Instagram using #MyTowerLights.