VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A show of support for Ukraine is taking place at landmarks around the world. Countries are lighting things up with the colors of Ukraine’s flag.
Virginia Beach is adding to the wave of blue and yellow.
Nearly every day, Barbara Davis passes the Lesner Bridge.
“I’ve lived in Virginia Beach almost my whole life,” Davis said.
Living near Shore Drive, she enjoys the multicolored lights that shine from the bridge at night.
“It’s our Eiffel Tower, I think,” Davis said.
That glow sparked an idea.
Even though Virginia Beach sits more than 5,000 miles away from a war zone in Ukraine, Davis wanted her city to join others around the world that are lighting landmarks in blue and yellow.
“Watching on TV all the other countries, the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, we have Lesner Bridge. So, I posted on Facebook we need to get the bridge lit in support of Ukraine.”
Just a few days after that post, the city made it happen.
“It took Facebook, and it took a village and we got it lit,” Davis said.
Blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine’s flag, now illuminate the bridge every night.
Mayor Bobby Dyer and city council members voted unanimously for the color change on Tuesday.
For Dyer, Ukraine feels a bit like home.
“I was brought up in the tradition, I went to Ukrainian churches, ate a lot of Ukrainian food,” Mayor Dyer said. “My grandma spoke broken English and my mom was bilingual.”
Dyer’s grandparents, on his mom’s side, are from Ukraine.
He said Virginia Beach will keep the blue and yellow lights for as long as needed.
“It’s a remarkable, resilient group of people, the Ukrainians,” Dyer said. “I tell you what, they are showing the world what they are about.”
Davis is proud to see the show of unity, waiting for some semblance of peace to come to Ukraine.
“I am hoping we can turn it off very soon, very soon,” Davis said.
Some buildings in Downtown Norfolk also have changed their lights, including the Wells Fargo building and Dominion Tower. Chesapeake City Hall is also lit up blue and yellow.