200+ Landmarks Worldwide Will Light Up Red for Nurses Week 2026

This National Nurses Week, the sky is going red.

The American Nurses Enterprise has announced that more than 200 iconic landmarks around the world will be illuminated in red beginning May 6 in honor of The Power of Nurses — the theme for National Nurses Week 2026, which runs from May 6 through May 12. It is the largest lighting activation in the event’s history, and it comes during a year that carries more weight than most.

This is not a typical Nurses Week. The 2026 celebration falls during the ANA’s 130th anniversary — 130 years of advocacy, ethical leadership, and relentless work to advance a profession that now counts more than 5.7 million licensed nurses in the United States alone. Earlier this year, Congress made it official: a bipartisan proclamation declared 2026 The Year of the Power of Nurses, recognizing the nursing profession’s extraordinary contributions to American healthcare and communities nationwide.

Against that backdrop, the ANA is not letting the week pass quietly.

Starting May 6, more than 200 landmarks across the globe will glow red in recognition of nurses. The list of confirmed locations spans continents and cultures, and it includes some of the most recognizable structures on earth.

In the United States, One World Trade Center in New York City will be illuminated — the most prominent building in the New York skyline and a symbol of resilience that has particular resonance for the healthcare workers who responded on and after September 11. The Zakim Bridge in Boston, Massachusetts, will light up, as will Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, New York, and the Hoan Bridge in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The celebration is not limited to American borders. The American University of Beirut Medical Center in Beirut, Lebanon, and the Saudi German Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, are among the international sites joining the activation — a reminder that the power of nursing is a global force.

If you see a building glowing red this week, it is there because of you. Share it using #NursesLightUpTheSky and #ThePowerOfNurses.

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Beyond the landmark lighting, ANA senior leaders and constituent state nurse association leaders are hitting the road this week for in-person visits at major healthcare institutions across the country. They will be on-site during morning shift changes — the moment when nurses are most visible, most tired, and most deserving of a genuine thank-you.

Here is the full schedule:

• May 6 — MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, D.C.
• May 7 — Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
• May 8 — University Medical Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
• May 11 — Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle, Washington
• May 12 — Los Angeles General Medical Center, Los Angeles, California

At each site, nurses will be greeted with ANA swag, coffee from local vendors, and personal expressions of gratitude from nursing leaders who understand what it means to show up every single day. May 12 — the final day of Nurses Week — is International Nurses Day, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, and the closing note of a week that has been building for 130 years.

If your hospital is not on the tour list, that does not mean the week is any less for you. The ANA has released a full National Nurses Week digital toolkit loaded with customizable resources, social media assets, printable certificates, press guidance, and ideas for local celebrations you can run yourself. The toolkit also includes instructions for how to advocate for lighting up a landmark near you — because the more buildings that glow red this week, the louder the message.

You can also join the Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation Recharge and Rise Challenge, sponsored by Humana, which launches May 4 and runs through the week with daily actions designed to support nurse wellbeing on and off shift.

This week exists because of what you do every other week of the year. Share your celebrations, show up for your colleagues, and let the world see what The Power of Nurses looks like.

Use #ThePowerOfNurses and #NursesLightUpTheSky all week long.