That light-up "Portal" to another part of the world is now live in the center of Philadelphia, connecting the City of Brotherly Love with several other cities around the world.
Officials with Portals.org, the 2026 Philadelphia committee and other civic leaders gathered on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, to cut the ribbon on the large circular livestreaming device.
The Portal is hyping up Philly ahead of the yearlong Semiquincentennial in 2026.
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"Hello Dublin," Michael Newmuis, the 2026 director for the City of Philadelphia, said at Tuesday's ribbon cutting, which also featured a look into the action in Vilnius, Lithuania; and Lublin, Poland. The connection is set to rotate every 3-1/2 minutes, organizers said.
The Portal will stay in LOVE Park through at least Nov. 7, 2024, before it is moved to another location in Philadelphia, organizers said.
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Portals.org rep (and "Proud Philadelphian") Joseph Callahan said "soon we will be connected to Brazil, Ethiopia and other many parts of the world."
Tuesday's ceremony ended with dancers and drummers from ODUNDE -- the largest African American Street Festival in North America -- giving a look into Philadelphia's culture to the other cities.
A little crack in the action
The Portal was previously hosted at the Flatiron Plaza in New York City.
The LOVE Park Portal's lens was cracked either after it arrived or after it was installed, Newmuis told NBC10 newsgathering partner KYW Newsradio.
"Like the Liberty Bell there is a small crack," Newmuis said at Tuesday's ribbon cutting.
Newmuis earlier told KYW Newsradio the crack -- visible to the naked eye -- was not from vandalism and can be fixed. New glass has already been ordered.
“Despite that it is not fixed today, we are going to move forward and not delay the opportunity to experience this incredible and unparalleled piece of artwork,” Newmuis told KYW Newsradio.
What the history of the Portals?
"The love, the peace and the joy of recognizing we are all one and we are all the same," Callahan said Tuesday.
There have been some bumps since the first Portal went live.
In 2021, the first Portals—created by Lithuanian artist and entrepreneur Benediktas Gylys—opened, connecting Vilnius to Lublin.
Then, in 2024, a live stream portal linking NYC and Dublin opened. The art installation garnered a lot of attention, but had to be temporarily shut down due to people's "inappropriate behavior."
Later, the NYC-Dublin Portals were opened again with new ways to prevent people from stepping on the portals, holding phones up to the cameras, flashing body parts, and doing drugs on camera.
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