The Empire State Building welcomes hundreds of celebrities, athletes, and dignitaries each year to light up the building and tour its immersive museum and iconic 86th and 102nd Floor Observatories. Throughout 2025, ESB hosted a number of iconic NYC moments that made the year nothing short of memorable.
See our favorites below!
January
BETTER MAN
On Jan. 14, British music icon Robbie Williams celebrated his new biopic “Better Man” with a photo opportunity at the Empire State Building.
15 HITS THE RAFTERS
NBA legend Vince Carter lit the Empire State Building in dynamic white, navy blue, and red with the no. 15 rotating in the mast to celebrate his Brooklyn Nets jersey retirement on Jan. 25.
DOGMAN IS UNLEASHED
On Jan. 31, "DOG MAN" star Pete Davidson and creator Dav Pilkey flipped the switch in a lighting ceremony and toured the Empire State Building Observatory Experience to celebrate the film’s theatrical release. Pilkey signed books for fans at the Observatory, and that evening, the building lit up blue and yellow in partnership with Scholastic.
February
BROADWAY BABY
On Feb. 3, internet celebrity Trisha Paytas lit the Empire State Building in pink to celebrate her Broadway debut in "Trisha Paytas' Big Broadway Dream," in partnership with the Entertainment Community Fund.
YEAR OF THE SNAKE
The Empire State Building rang in the Spring Festival with a red and gold tower lighting on Feb. 4, in partnership with Gold House. Earlier that day, actor and comedian Bowen Yang visited the building to flip the switch in a lighting ceremony and tour the iconic 86th and 102nd Floor Observatories.
50 YEARS OF FUNNY
The Empire State Building hosted a lighting ceremony with current SNL cast members, Chloe Fineman, Mikey Day, and Sarah Sherman, who flipped the famous switch to celebrate the show’s 50th Anniversary on Feb. 16.
LET'S HAVE A KEKE
On Feb. 6, the Empire State Building’s world-famous tower lights lit up red, black, and green to honor Black History Month. The building hosted a lighting ceremony that morning with special guest Keke Palmer.
BORN AGAIN
Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio – who play rivals Matt Murdoch and Wilson Fisk in Marvel’s “Daredevil: Born Again” – visited the Empire State Building to flip the switch in a lighting ceremony and tour the immersive museum and iconic Observatories on Feb. 24. The building lit up red that evening to celebrate the show’s premiere.
March
FAITHFUL VICTORY
ESB hosted a “Traitors” takeover at the building in early March, with a lighting ceremony to celebrate the show’s return to Peacock with special guest Alan Cumming. Season three winners Dolores Catania, Lord Ivar Mountbatten, and Dylan Efron took a victory lap at the building the following day.
20 YEARS OF JOBROS
On March 21, the Jonas Brothers kicked off JONASCON Weekend at the Empire State Building with a special lighting ceremony and lookalike contest, in partnership with iHeart Radio.
April
AUSSIE ICON
On April 4, the Empire State Building’s world-famous tower lights lit up in green & gold to celebrate Kylie Minogue’s Madison Square Garden Show in partnership with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. Minogue visited the building that day to flip the switch in a lighting ceremony and tour the Observatory Experience.
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
Alicia Keys visited the Empire State Building to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Broadway favorite “Hell’s Kitchen” on April 9. That night, the Empire State Building shined in blue, gold, and white.
PRETTY IN PINK
In partnership with The Magic Mission, Kesha lit the Empire State Building pink to celebrate her new album, “Period,” on April 10.
May
BUSY & THE BACHELORETTE
On May 5, Busy Phillips and Tayshia Adams joined City Harvest – New York’s first and largest food rescues organization – to light the Empire State Building in green to honor the “Share Lunch Fight Hunger” campaign.
SINCERELY, KALI
Dressed in all pink, Grammy-winning recording artist Kali Uchis visited the Empire State Building for a photo opportunity ahead of the release of her fifth studio album, "Sincerely," on May 9.
CYAN FOR SI
On May 13, Sports Illustrated Swim models Livvy Dunne, Lauren Chan, Ellie Thumann, Camille Kostek, Xandra Pohl, and Hunter McGrady visited the building to flip the switch in a lighting ceremony to celebrate the 2025 Sports Illustrated Swim Issue Debut.
JUST JIN
BTS member Jin celebrated the release of his second solo album, “Echo,” with a lighting ceremony and special fan event at the building on May 20. Jin treated fans to a Q&A and exclusive performance on the building’s 80th Floor, in partnership with iHeartRadio.
June
MUSIC HEALS
Musicians on Call and K-pop supergroup Stray Kids banded together to celebrate music’s healing power with a special lighting ceremony and Observatory visit on June 16.
BRAVO ANDY
The Empire State Building hosted TV personality Andy Cohen and the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative to light New York City up in rainbow colors to celebrate Pride on June 26.
July
HISTORIC REMATCH
Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano once again faced off at the Empire State Building Observatory, before the final fight of their historic Trilogy Clash on July 8.
MAN OF STEEL
The Empire State Building lit up blue, yellow and red to celebrate the release of “Superman” on July 9, in partnership with Best Friends Animal Society. “Superman” stars David Corinswet and Rachel Brosnahan visited the building that day for a ceremonial lighting.
August
CELEBRATE HERITAGE
On Aug. 15, the Empire State Building lit its world-famous tower lights in green, white, and orange to celebrate the 79th annual India Day, in partnership with the Federation of India Associations. Earlier that day, the Empire State Building hosted a lighting ceremony with actor and film producer Vijay Deverakonda, who flipped the famous light switch.
UP, UP, UP
Netflix’s smash hit “KPOP DEMON HUNTERS” took over the Empire State Building with a special Music-to-Light Spectacular synched to the film’s record-breaking song, “Golden,” on Aug. 22. The film’s stars Arden Cho, May Hong, and singer REI AMI visited the building that morning to celebrate.
September
FASHION MVP
NBA star Russel Wilson kicked off New York Fashion Week with a special lighting ceremony at ESB on Sept. 10, in partnership with N4XT Experiences.
VIVA MEXICO
On Sept. 15, the Empire State Building lit up in the colors of the Mexican flag to celebrate Mexican Independence Day. Earlier that day, food influencer and content creator, RobeGrill, and the Consul General of Mexico in New York, Marcos Augusto Bucio Mujica, visited the Empire State Building for a lighting ceremony and tour of the iconic Observatory Experience.
FOR MODERN FAMILIES
Actress Julie Bowen joined Baby2Baby co-CEOS Kelly Sawyer Patricof and Norah Weinstein to flip the switch to honor the organization’s expansion to New York on Sept. 18.
October
FOR THE CURE
The Empire State Building hosted its annual lighting with the Estee Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Campaign to honor Breast Cancer Awareness month with actress and activist Elizabeth Hurley and actress and cancer survivor Olivia Munn on Oct. 1.
HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH
Colombian singer and rapper Maluma visited the Empire State Building for a special concert for fans to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month on Oct. 3.
RACE TO THE TOP
Hundreds of runners from around the world experienced the ultimate test of endurance as they raced from the Empire State Building’s lobby up to its iconic 86th Floor Observatory in the annual ESB Run-Up on Oct. 8.
DRACO RETURNS
On Oct. 19, the Empire State Building honored beloved “Harry Potter” actor Tom Felton at a lighting ceremony to celebrate his return to his iconic role as Draco Malfoy in “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” on Broadway.
HALLOWEEN QUEEN
Supermodel Heidi Klum lit the Empire State Building in festive orange and green on Halloween to celebrate the holiday.
November
HOLIDAY KICK-OFF
The Empire State Building kicked the holidays into gear with a decor unveiling by the Radio City Rockettes to celebrate the opening of the “Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes” on Nov. 6. The Rockettes partnered with ESB on a series of limited time exhibits to celebrate their 100th anniversary and an exclusive ticket bundle.
POLISH PRIDE
Polish soccer superstar Robert Lewandowski visited ESB for a lighting ceremony to honor Polish Independence Day on Nov. 11. That night, the building lit up in white and red to celebrate.
December
THAT'S A WRAP
On Dec. 3, the Empire State Building celebrated Spotify Wrapped 2025 with a special tower lighting and ceremony with DJ, author, and record producer, Mark Ronson, and the voice of Spotify's AI DJ, Xavier "X" Jernigan.
"MARTY" PARTY
On Dec. 16, the Empire State Building will shine its world-famous tower lights in orange to celebrate the premiere of A24’s “Marty Supreme.” Earlier, “Marty Supreme” stars Timothée Chalamet, Fran Drescher, Tyler, the Creator, Kevin O’Leary, Odessa A’zion, Luke Manley, Koto Kawaguchi, and director Josh Safdie visited the building to flip the famous light switch and tour the iconic Observatory Experience.
HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR
The Empire State Building capped off another year of iconic moments with its annual Holiday Music-to-Light Spectacular synched to “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” by Pentatonix, featuring Frank Sinatra on Dec. 19. Pentatonix visited the Empire State Building for a lighting ceremony and fan event to celebrate.
Cheers to 2026!
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