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Monumental ‘Eye’ watches over Geneva

Giant Eye flag being raised in Geneva
The flag was hoisted by a crane over the Plainpalais, an open space in the city centre. Keystone/Laurent Darbellay

A flag the size of a ten-storey building has been raised in the Swiss city of Geneva to warn of the negative impact of global climate change.

The work of art consists of 13,250 of portraits from 190 countries around the world and carries the message: the eyes of the world are upon you, according to the promoters.

It was raised on Saturday in coordination with the organisers of an international film festival on human rights.

The flag was created by Geneva artist and activist, Dan Acher.

Geneva is the latest stage of a tour which began in 2019 in the Spanish capital, Madrid, which hosted a United Nations climate change conference.

The flag was also due to be hoisted in Paris and New York over the past two years, but the events had to be cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.

The western Swiss city is the seat of numerous international organisations and a European seat of the UN.

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR