Knoxville's golden globe is about to get a whole lot brighter. The city and Visit Knoxville are moving ahead with a new project to add exterior lighting to the Sunsphere, with plans to illuminate the landmark in a variety of colors and highlight its architecture for the first time in this way.
According to WBIR, Visit Knoxville and the City of Knoxville are working on a project to light up the Sunsphere as the third phase of ongoing upgrades to the 1982 World's Fair landmark. Officials say this phase will add a modern exterior lighting system designed to highlight the Sunsphere's architecture and illuminate it in a variety of colors.
Officials told the station that project management meetings and material ordering will start this month, with installation planned for 2027. They hope to unveil the finished project in fall 2027, giving Knoxville roughly a year's worth of planning and prep before the gold sphere takes on its new look.
A Landmark City Officials Call Irreplaceable
Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon said the Sunsphere is the city's most recognizable landmark and that the community has long wanted to see it lit up, per the station's report. She added that she's excited to work with Visit Knoxville to bring the lighting project to life, a sentiment that tracks with how the structure has been described elsewhere — as one of the scruffy city's most recognizable symbols.
Visit Knoxville President and CEO Kim Bumpas echoed that enthusiasm, saying the organization is thrilled to lead the enhancement of the Sunsphere for local and visitor enjoyment. Officials said the new lighting will provide opportunities for photography, community engagement, and memorable experiences once it's installed.
No Closures Planned for Tenants or Visitors
Despite the scope of the upgrade, officials said the project is not expected to affect the operations of tenants or nearby businesses. They also said the Welcome Center and fourth-floor observation deck will remain open throughout installation, with no plans to close them to the public.
That matters for a landmark that has seen steadily growing foot traffic since reopening in 2022. Per the same account from Knox News, the Sunsphere's daily visitation increased by 11 percent compared with the previous year. Visit Knoxville has previously reported that more than 100,000 visitors from around the world had passed through the observation deck by November 2023, drawing guests from all 50 states and 54 countries since it reopened in February 2022.
Part of a Multi-Year Overhaul
The lighting project is the latest step in a longer-running effort funded through the Sunsphere Fund, which Visit Knoxville established in 2019 to preserve, maintain, and upgrade the structure, according to Knox News. Earlier phases focused on cosmetic and visitor-facing improvements rather than lighting.
Visit Knoxville has detailed those earlier stages in its own announcements. The organization says the Sunsphere's base was repainted to its original Pantone Classic Blue shade, with that work finished on November 17, 2023 using more than 315 gallons of paint. A second phase added a Welcome Center on the third floor, which Visit Knoxville announced would open to the public on November 20, 2024. The Sunsphere is owned by the City of Knoxville and promoted like other attractions by the tourism agency.
Knoxville has flirted with illuminating the Sunsphere before. The landmark once took on a temporary patriotic glow for a week to mark Independence Day and the city's 225th anniversary, with officials at the time looking into funding options to keep the lights shining permanently, per an earlier WBIR report. This new phase appears aimed at making that kind of glow a lasting fixture on the skyline rather than a one-week novelty.
