Lighting
Every night, the CN Tower lights up to honour major Canadian cultural moments, charities and special causes.
About the CN Tower’s structural lighting program
As a cherished symbol of Canada, the CN Tower’s lighting program supports Canadian charitable organizations, causes, and celebrations. The CN Tower lights in rainbow colours nightly, at the bottom of each hour as a symbol of strength, unity, and hope.
The CN Tower also lights for the following major cultural holidays: Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Nowruz, Holi, Easter, Eid al-Fitr, Vesak Day, Victoria Day, National Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, Canadian Multiculturalism Day, Canada Day, National Acadian Day, Rosh Hashanah, Hallowe’en, Diwali, Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa.
As we do when any of Toronto’s major league teams reach the playoffs, the CN Tower is illuminated in the team’s colours during the first home game of each series and then for the final game. Should any of the playoff games occur on a night when the CN Tower has a previous commitment, our usual 10-minute light show at the top of the hour will instead be dedicated to the team colours. Similarly, the CN Tower lights for Canadian sports teams playing final games in international sporting events.
Themed lighting is at the sole discretion of CN Tower management and is not subject to appeals or negotiation. All requests will be evaluated based on meeting the abovementioned guidelines as well as:
- The nature of the cause
- The history and background of the organization, cause or event
- How the lighting will be used to benefit the cause/event
- How the CN Tower’s iconic image will be related to the event
Dimming
The CN Tower dims its structural lighting on the day a fallen Canadian soldier is repatriated, or in acknowledgment of a tragic event that has taken place in Canada. In such cases, the CN Tower will remain dark in the skyline for five minutes at the top of every hour throughout the night.
Request lighting
If your registered charity or national charitable cause is looking to mark a major occasion with a CN Tower light display, fill out the form below, and we’ll get back to you with more information! Be sure to submit it at least 30 days before your planned lighting.
Please note that lighting or dimming cannot be considered for:
- causes or commemorations for events that take place outside Canada, such as natural disasters or anniversaries of tragic events
- commercial requests (e.g. product launches, corporate events)
- individual recognition or personal occasions (e.g. gender reveal, birthdays, anniversaries)
- religious events, with the exception of the above-listed cultural celebrations
- political events or observances, including lighting in state colours in response to world events
- institutions or professions (e.g. hospitals, schools)
Lighting requests made via petitions and/or social media campaigns are not considered.
Applicants will receive a written response stating whether or not it has been approved. Due to the high volume of applications, all requests cannot be accommodated. The CN Tower wishes to stress that if an application is declined, this is not a reflection of the merits or importance of any requests.
If your application is approved
If you plan to acknowledge the lighting in communications materials, please provide samples for review and approval at least 14 days prior to the lighting. Failure to do so may result in our inability to grant the request. We suggest creating a standard line or statement about the lighting that can be included in materials, e.g., “On (insert date) CN Tower lights (insert colour) for XYZ Awareness Day.”
If your request is confirmed, all efforts will be made to grant the lighting on the date requested. However, CN Tower management reserves the right to make adjustments to the schedule as necessary, and this may result in modifying the timing of your lighting or rescheduling the date.
