More than 200 landmarks in 60 countries from the Pyramids in Egypt to the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Empire State Building in New York will be lit up in blue — the official color of the United Nations— on Saturday, October 24, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the world body, the Associated Press reports.

The global celebration will kick off in New Zealand and then at the Sydney Opera House in Australia. It will move across countries and continents to the Great Wall of China, the ancient city of Petra in Jordan, Russia's Hermitage Museum, the Alhambra in Spain, the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, the Opera House in Armenia and many other sites.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed hope that "by turning the world UN blue for a day, we can light a way to a better tomorrow."

October 24 is the anniversary of the entry into force of the UN Charter in 1945 and is celebrated as UN Day.

The General Assembly unanimously approved a declaration Friday reaffirming the faith of the 193 member states in the United Nations on its 70th anniversary and the UN's determination "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war."