The truth about the world's landmarks turning purple for Prince

Following the death of the iconic singer-songwriter Prince on Thursday, aged 57, tributes have been made around the world to the musician's work and legacy.

President Barack Obama said in a statement:

'A strong spirit transcends rules,' Prince once said - and nobody's spirit was stronger, bolder, or more creative.

However, some false and nonexistent tributes have been reported as true, in the form of world monuments being lit purple in commemoration of the artist.

For instance, Niagara Falls was lit purple on Thursday night in commemoration of Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday - that it occurred on the day that Prince died is merely an apt coincidence:

An image of the Empire State Building lit purple has also been doing the rounds, however this appears to be false.

Given the presence of lighting events on the official Twitter account...

...it seems strange that there were no official tweets about the purple lighted image which has been widely shared.

It's because the Empire State Building photos are old and being rehashed - it was lit purple to honour war veterans last year and purple and gold to honour the Queen's Jubilee on 4 June 2002.

Checking EarthCam also showed that the Eiffel Tower was not purple last night, merely photoshopped and retweeted, neither was St. Paul's Cathedral.

The Lowry Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis was a tribute, however...

...as was the Superdome in New Orleans...

...as was Montreal's City hall...

... while Nasa tweeted a picture of a purple nebula in honour of the musician.

There was a tribute on the front Ritzy cinema in Brixton, where people gathered after David Bowie's death in January.

While Homebase and South West Trains produced some of the worst of the tributes flying around the internet.

Thankfully Homebase have since deleted the rather tone-deaf attempt.

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