Rockefeller Center To Light Up For Cancer Telethon

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- More than a dozen landmarks across the U.S. and Canada, including the Rockefeller Center, will light up to promote next week's "Stand Up to Cancer" telethon.

Organizers say the buildings that will be illuminated starting Thursday include Rockefeller Center, as well as Toronto's CN tower and the Wrigley Building in Chicago.

The hour-long cancer fundraiser will air Sept. 5 on 31 U.S. broadcast and cable networks.

It also will air on Canadian networks and will stream live on Hulu and Yahoo in the United States.

Other landmarks that will light up for the telethon include the Houston City Hall, the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Ferris wheel at the Santa Monica Pier in California.

All the lights will be some combination of red, orange, yellow or white.

Childhood cancer advocates have been lobbying to light up the Empire State Building in gold, but building officials have said no. Advocates want to know why.

As CBS 2's Alice Gainer reported, the building has been lit up for various causes and reasons. It's been purple for World Prematurity Day, and has been lit up for Pride Week, the Chinese Lunar New Year, and even the Subway Series.

One color that it won't be lit up in anytime soon is gold.

Building officials said that they receive more lighting applications than there are days of the year and that they can't light the building for all who apply.

"Any lighting request via petitions and/or social media campaigns is automatically not considered," they said.

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