Celebrities at ESB

Television personality and former professional football player, Michael Strahan visited the Empire State Building for a ceremonial lighting. Strahan flipped the switched to light the building in red, white, and blue for the kickoff of the United States Football League’s 2nd season.

Actress, singer, and television personality Adrienne Bailon-Houghton visited the Empire State Building to ceremonially light the building in honor of National Infertility Awareness Week. After the ceremony, Bailon toured the Observatory Experience taking in the breathtaking views of NYC.

K-pop group, TWICE visited the Empire State Building to light the world-famous tower lights in their signature colors, apricot and magenta. The lighting in partnership with Republic Records and Musicians On Call celebrated the healing power of music as well as the release of TWICE’s Ready to Be EP.

Mayor Eric Adams visited the “World’s Most Famous Building” to kick off the “We Love NYC” campaign to reinvigorate the city post-pandemic. Mayor Adams flipped the ceremonial switch to light the Empire State Building in red.

American professional baseball executive, Joe Torre visited the Empire State Building to celebrate Team USA’s trip to the World Baseball Classic. The baseball Hall of Famer visited the iconic building to flip the ceremonial switch and turn the world-famous tower lights red, white, and blue.

The cast of Prime Video television series, Daisy Jones & The Six visited the Empire State Building for a tour of the Observatory Experience. The cast includes Riley Keough, Sam Claflin, Camila Morrone, Will Harrison, Suki Waterhouse, Josh Whitehouse, Sebastian Chacon, and Nibiyah Be.

Grammy award winning, singer-songwriter P!nk visited the Empire State Building to celebrate the release of her album, Trustfall. P!nk visited for a ceremonial lighting, interview, and performance on the 8pth floor. That evening, the world-famous tower lights created a music-to-light show to “Never Gonna Not Dance Again”, a single off the album.

Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist, Andrea Bocelli visited the Empire State Building with his children, Matteo and Virginia. The building lit in celebration of the Andrea Bocelli Foundation and the “Voices Of” program.

The Backstreet Boys visited the Empire State Building to flip the witch in a lighting ceremony and participated in a private Q&A with fans on the building’s 80th floor with iHeart Radio. The Empire State Building’s annual holiday music-to-light spectacular was set to music from the Backstreet Boy’s new Christmas album, “A Very Backstreet Christmas”.

American singer, songwriter, and actor visited the World’s Most Famous Building for a ceremonial lighting. The Empire State Building lit up in gold to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Maestro Cares Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Marc Anthony.

The cast of hit Netflix show, Emily in Paris, visited the Empire State Building for an official lighting ceremony in celebration of the premier of the third season. In addition, Shop the Scenes, a company that sells merchandise from movie and television series, was celebrating the new season by bringing the show’s items to life with exclusive products from the third season, in which funds benefited the Garden of Dreams Foundation.

The American electronic music DJ trio Cheat Codes visited the Empire State Building to film their new music video. The band was joined by Dixie D’Amelio who is also appearing in their new song. Trevor, Matt and Kevin make up the trio that formed in 2014. Since then, they have toured with The Chainsmokers and have collaborated with Demi Lovato, Fetty Wap and more.

The winners of the 51st New York City Marathon were invited to the Empire State Building to celebrate. Evans Chebet, Sharon Lokedi, Marcel Hug and Susannah Scaroni are the winners of the Men and Women’s Running and Wheelchair Marathon, respectively. The race is 26.2 miles and goes through all five burrows of New York City.

15-time Grammy award winning artist and iconic New Yorker, Alicia Keys visited the Empire State Building to celebrate the opening of the Starbucks Reserve Empire State Building store. In celebration, Alicia Keys flipped the ceremonial switch to light the building in Starbucks green.

Lyle the Crocodile visited the Empire State Building during the premeier of his new film Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile. The New York CIty based movie is a feature film adaptation of both the children's story of the same name and its prequel The House on East 88th Street.

American drag queen, reality television personality, and recording artist, Jujubee visted the Empire State Building to ceremonially light the world famous tower lights. Jujubee was celebrating Spirit Day, an annual LGBTQ+ awareness day celebrated every third Thursday of October.

Maite Perroni is a Mexican actress, singer, songwriter and producer. She visited the Empire State Building to light its world-famous tower lights in red, white, and green for Mexico’s Independence Day in partnership with the consul general of Mexico.

Brazilian supermodel, Alessandra Ambrosio, visited the Empire State Building to light the world-famous tower lights for Brazilian Independence Day with the Brazilian Consulate.

Ballroom dancer and choreographer Jenna Johnson Chmerkovskiy visited the Empire State Building. Chmerkovskiy was first seen on So You Think You Can Dance when she finished ladies’ third runner-up on season 10. She continued her professional dancing career on Dancing with the Stars where she won her second season.

Multiplatinum Warner recording artist MAX visited the Empire State Building. Since the breakout success of his album Hell’s Kitchen Angel, MAX has more than 2.5 billion streams and has toured the world multiple times over. MAX’s new music continues to dive deeper into spreading a message of being true to who you are, wearing what you want to wear, loving who you want to love and creating safe space where everyone can feel accepted.

Actor and two-time Grammy winner LL Cool J was invited to light the Empire State Building to celebrate the first ever Rock the Bells Festival. Rock The Bells Festival is a day-long celebration curated by LL COOL J in his hometown, Queens, NY featuring live performances from some of the most iconic MCs of all time. The festival brings classic Hip-Hop to life with Breaking, Graffiti, DJing, Performances and much more.

WWE wrestlers Bianca Belair and Montez Ford were invited to ESB to celebrate the lighting of the building in honor of Monday Night Raw. The Empire State Building shinned its tower lights in orange, yellow, and teal to celebrate WWE’s return to New York City with a live episode of Monday Night Raw at Madison Square Garden. The reigning WWE Raw Women’s Champion and the formed Raw Tag Team Champion both competed in the events.

Actor, singer, dancer and producer Corbin Bleu made an appearance at the Empire State Building. Bleu is most well-known for his role as Chad in Disney Channel’s "High School Musical" trilogy. He has since returned to the iconic franchise during season 3 of "High School Musical The Musical:The Series." The Disney+ show premiered on July 23rd, 2022.

American actor and singer, Joshua Bassett visited the building for a quick tour during his time in New York. The "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" star got to take in the views of the 86th and 103rd floors on a beautiful July afternoon.

Actor Steve Carell celebrated the upcoming premiere of "Minions: Rise of Gru" at the Empire State Building. Carell is most known for his lead role as Michael Scott in "The Office." Steve Carell was joined by his minion co-stars during his visit to ESB.

In honor of his Hulu documentary "Life in Pink," Machine Gun Kelly lit the Empire State Building pink. ESB was lit as a symbol of strength, perseverance and hope in partnership with MGK. Following his visit to ESB, Machine Gun Kelly performed a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden.

The Empire State Building shines its tower lights in purple and gold annually for the Westminster Dog Show. The day after his big victory, Trumpet and his handler visited the iconic landmark. Trumpet had the opportunity for many photos on the 86th and 102nd floor of the Empire State Building Observatory.

The American actress, known for her role of Miriam Maisel in "The Marvelous Mrs.Maisel," visited the building in 2022. She was invited to a lighting ceremony in honor of Covenant House, a charity in which she serves as a board member of. Covenant House lit the building blue for its 50th anniversary.

The cast of "Stranger Things" turned the Empire State Building Upside-Down to celebrate their Season 4 premiere. The observatory had a first-of-its-kind, dynamic light show that could be seen for blocks. “Stranger Things” cast members Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, Cara Buono, and Priah Ferguson came to ESB for a full observatory experience.

Elmo and Cookie Monster were invited to light the Empire State Building in red, yellow and blue to celebrate the return of "Sesame Street Live! Let’s Party!" The show ran from February 19 to February 27 at Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden. Elmo and Cookie Monster took the stage with their friends Abby Cadabby and Big Bird.

Artist, Ed Sheeran, performed at the Empire State Building during the holiday music to light show. The exclusive iHeartRadio Holiday Pop Up Party was presented by State Farm. The event featured thousands of LED lights and a 5-song performance by Sheeran.

American actress, Blake Lively, visited the Empire State Building in attendance of the lighting ceremony celebrating the return of UK travelers to NYC. The event was hosted by British Airways, NYC & Company, and the British Consulate. Blake has called New York home for several years and was overjoyed to light the building in red, white, and blue.

The Pussycat Dolls star Nicole Scherzingerposed on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building. In addition to being the leader singer of The Pussycat Dolls, Scherzinger was also a judge on the music competition franchise X-Factor. She watched the sunset from the observatory of ESB.

Charlie D’Amelio was joined by her sister Dixie as well as her parents Marc and Heidi at the Empire State Building to promote their Hulu series “The D’Amelio Show.” Charli got her start by posting many viral videos on Tiktok. The D’Amelio Show premiered on Hulu on September 2, 2021, just a week after the family visited ESB.

Dixie D’Amelio was joined by her sister Charli as well as their parents Marc and Heidi at the Empire State Building to promote their Hulu series “The D’Amelio Show”. Dixie got her start by posting many viral videos on Tiktok. The D’Amelio Show premiered on Hulu on September 2, 2021, just a week after the family visited ESB.

Actress and talk-show host Drew Barrymore celebrated the premier of her daytime talk show by lighting up the Empire State Building yellow. The Drew Barrymore Show premiered on September 14th2020,featuring appearances from Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu and Adam Sandler. Barrymore said that her experience at ESB was a “memory to keep forever.”

Namibian model, Behati Prinsloo was invited to light up the Empire State Building in honor of World Wildlife Day, in partnership with United Nations. She flipped the switch to turn the tower lights blue and green with a gold mast. The 2020 UN World Wildlife Day shared a theme of “Sustaining all life on Earth”, as 2020 was known as the “biodiversity super year”.

Global icon and supermodel, Cindy Crawford visited the Empire State Building to join in the ceremonial lighting for International Women’s Day. The tower lights shined blue to honor the IWD and the nonprofit Delivering Good. In her post-modeling career, Crawford has become an advocate and philanthropist for women’s issues and childhood cancer.

Pop star Mariah Carey continued to celebrate her holiday jingle “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” Carey was invited to ESB to light up the building red and green for the 25th anniversary party of the song. The song reached the number one spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart 25 years after release.

The American actor, composer, playwright, and filmmaker was invited to the Empire State Building to light the tower lights blue in support of Small Business Saturday. Miranda’s first musical and movie, “In the Heights” revolves around several small businesses on a city block. Miranda lit the Empire State Building in partnership with American Express to promote shopping small.

American actress, Jennifer Garner visited the Empire State Building to celebrate the lighting of the Building for Save the Children USA. Jennifer flipped the ceremonial switch to light the tower lights red. Garner is an activist for early childhood education and board member for Save the Children USA.

Tom Holland was invited to light the Empire State Building in blue and red to honor The Brothers Trust and "Spider-Man: Far From Home." The actor also celebrated The Brother’s Trust, a charity that supports organizations that “struggle to be heard.” Holland was joined by his cast members to light up ESB while promoting the new Spider-Man film.

South Korean pop group, BTS, took over the Empire State Building in partnership with iHeartMedia to shine the tower lights purple. The lights celebrated the band’s iHeartRadio live concert at iHeartRadio Theatre. The group visited just a day before to be a part of a ceremonial lighting at the NYC landmark.

Actress and singer Hailee Steinfeld was invited to light up the Empire State Building in honor of Make-a-Wish Foundation and her new movie "Bumblebee." Hailee is best known for her roles as Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet” and Emily Junk in “Pitch Perfect 2.” Steinfeld was joined by co-star John Cena to spend a special day and evening with Make-A-Wish Foundation members and kids in a screening of the movie and ESB lighting ceremony.

Actor and WWE superstar John Cena was invited to light up the Empire State Building in honor of Make-a-Wish Foundation and his new movie "Bumblebee." Cena is known as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time and took up acting later in his career. Cena was joined by co-star Hailee Steinfeld to spend a special day and evening with Make-A-Wish Foundation members and kids in a screening of the movie and ESB lighting ceremony.

Brazilian supermodel, most known for her work as a Victoria’s Secret Angel, visited the Empire State Building in 2018. She joined a ceremonial light of the building in celebration of the 2018 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show Holiday Special. The fashion event returned to New York City for its final show.

American tennis star, Venus Williams, visited the Empire State Building to participate in the annual ceremonial lighting of the Empire State Building in support of Small Business Saturday. The building lit blue to recognize the shopping holiday the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

English actress Elizabeth Hurley was invited to light the Empire State Building pink in honor of Estee Lauder’s 2018 Breast Cancer Campaign. Hurley’s best-known role was her part as Vanessa Kensington in “Austin Powers.” Hurley lit the building to back Estee Lauder’s Guinness World Records title to illuminate 40 global landmarks.

American actress, Kristen Bell visited the Empire State Building to join the ceremonial lighting of the building in support of the Women’s Peace & Humanitarian Fund (WPHF). Bell as the first global advocate for WPHF flipped the switch to light the tower lights blue and pink.

The American icon and competitive eater, Joey Chestnut visited in 2018 as the Empire State Building hosted the official weigh-in ceremony for Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest. Joey Chestnut was looking to hold onto his championship title as many thought Carmen Cincotti had the chance to beat him.

The singer, dancer, actress and entrepreneur was invited to light the Empire State Building along with the other cast members of "The Greatest Showman" to promote the film. Zendaya got her start on Disney Channel’s "Shake It Up" and is now best known for her role as Rue in "Euphoria." Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron and the other stars of the movie participated in a ESB lighting ceremony for "The Greatest Showman."

Actor Zac Efronwas invited to light the Empire State Building along with the other cast members of "The Greatest Showman" to promote the film. Efron got his start on Disney Channel’s "High School Musical" and has continued his acting career in a variety of movies. Hugh Jackman, Zendaya and the other stars of the movie participated in a ESB lighting ceremony for "The Greatest Showman."

Gwen Stefani kicked off ESB’s holiday music-to-light show with her song, “You Make It Feel Like Christmas.” The American actor, singer and songwriter got her start writing songs for the band No Doubt before becoming a solo artist. Stefani was joined by her now husband Blake Shelton to get New York City in the Christmas spirit.

The once couple, Kylie Jenner and Tyga visited the Empire State Building on Valentine’s Day as a celebration of their love. The romantic setting was illuminated by the red tower lights that shined during the night. The socialite, businesswoman, and media personality made her way to the VIP 103rd floor of the Empire State Building.

Indian actress Priyanka Chopra promoted her show Quantico during her visit to the Empire State Building. Chopra won Miss World in 2000 and was recently named one of Time’s most 100 influential people in the world.

Gold medal winning “Final Five” visited the Empire State Building just days after their incredible win at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The group, made up of Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez, Aly Raisman, and Madison Kocian, took in the NYC views as part of their post-win New York tour.

Dancer, actress and singer, Julianne Hough visited the Empire State Building to celebrate the season premiere of "Running Wild with Bear Grylls." Hough is well known for her start as a cast member on ABC’s "Dancing with the Stars" before becoming a permanent judge in 2014. Hough was joined with Bear Grylls during her visit to ESB.

Professional American golfer, Jordan Spieth visited the Empire State Building after winning the 2015 Master’s tournament. Spieth flipped the switch to light the tower lights in a golf course green and yellow to honor the tournament. Fresh off his win, Spieth sported the famous green coat on the Observation deck.

“Happy” singer Pharrell Williams visited the Empire State Building in support of The Yellow Ball. The rapper, singer and songwriter has written the music for many movie soundtracks, including "Hidden Figures," "Despicable Me" and "Despicable Me 2." ESB was lit yellow in honor of the Yellow Ball, which supports arts education.

Hugh Jackman was invited to light the Empire State Building green and gold in honor of Australia Day. Jackman is well-known for his lead movie-musical roles in "Les Misérables" and "The Greatest Showman," as well as his portrayal of the title character in "Wolverine." Jackman looks over New York City from the 103rd floor of ESB.

American DJ, record producer, and record executive, Steve Aoki visited the Empire State Building in 2014. Aoki was touring New York City to celebrate the release of his new album, "Neon Future I."

The American tennis star, Serena Williams brought her 2014 United States Open Trophy to the 103rd floor of the Empire State Building. This was Serena’s 6th win in New York City and her 18th Grand Slam title.

The 11-time Grammy artist visited the Empire State Building when the building put on a music-to-light show synchronized to Taylor Swift’s song “Welcome to New York” during the 1989 album release. Taylor enjoyed the views of the 103rd floor on her visit to the Empire State Building as part of the ceremonial lighting event.

Actress and singer Ariana Grande visited the Empire State Building a day after winning the New Artist of the Year Award at the AMA’s. Before Ariana Grande was a pop star, she was a lead in the hit Nickelodeon show “Victorious.” Grande lit ESB in fall colors to officially kick-off Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Week.

The Rockettes were invited to light the Empire State Building green and red to celebrate the opening of the 2013 Radio City Christmas Spectacular. The Rockettes were founded in 1936 in St. Louis and have been performing at Radio City Music Hall since 1932. Each year, the Rockettes kick off the holiday season by lighting up ESB.

The Serbian professional tennis player, Novak Djokovic visited the Empire State Building after winning the 2011 U.S. Open. The number one tennis player, at the time, and the US Open trophy made its way to the Observatory for a photo opp.

Kim Kardashian is a global icon, businesswoman, and media personality. During the filming of “Kourtney and Kim Take New York”, the pair visited the Empire State Building. Her time in the Big Apple was filled with site-seeing at some of NYC’s most iconic locations.

SpongeBob made an appearance at the Empire State Building in honor of Earth Day. The star of the Nickelodeon cartoon “SpongeBob SquarePants” made his television debut in 1999. SpongeBob was joined by Nick Cannon to power down for Earth Day.

World renown tennis star, Roger Federer visited the Empire State Building just days after his U.S. Open championship win. The Swiss professional tennis player and the trophy made its way with him to the 103rd VIP viewing deck.