ONE OF Lisbon’s most famous landmarks, the Cristo Rei statue, is to be illuminated in blue and white over Christmas.
The 70 metre high and 21 metre wide statue at Almada on the south bank of the River Tejo near the April 25 Bridge will be decorated with lights in the form of four angels with outstretched arms in what is meant to be a message of peace and union.
The 52,000 LED controlled light bulbs supplied by electrical giant Samsung will be visible all over Greater Lisbon. The base of the statue will also show the company’s illuminated logo.
In all, the statue will be covered in 162,000 neon light bulbs fixed into a flexible mesh measuring 8,520 metres. It took 10 people 275 hours to mount the mesh and light bulbs over the entire statue.
To keep down energy costs, the entire system will feature an LED energy saving mechanism burning one-eighth of the consumption of a regular light bulb.
Do you have a view on this story? Email: [email protected]
