Sortland - The Blue City
The idea of 'The Blue City' goes back to the early ninetees, when Bjørn Elvenes considered painting the entire town blue overnight as a prank. He planned to spray coloured water over all the buildings, which would then freeze overnight leaving blue surfaces.
The prank never came about, but the idea evolved. Elvenes was involved in a meeting about possible millenium celebrations in the town hall, and although his idea was not formally proposed, he mentioned it in passing during a coffee break. A few days later, local politician Jørun Drevland approached Elvenes and asked to take the idea forward.
Elvenes' idea was to create a three-dimensional painting, in which observers can walk around. It is not intended to paint every single building in plain blue, but in his own words:
"A blue city does not need to be bluer than that required to be remembered by visitors as The Blue City."
Information from http://www.blaabyen.no/
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