Moai statues were lit pink on 19 October in Rapa Nui

Moai statues on Easter Island were lit pink on 19 October 2026 during a breast-cancer awareness campaign linking Hanga Piko with Vina del Mar. The ceremony formed part of a wider programme of prevention, education and community activity in Hanga Roa, Chile.

The event gave a familiar archaeological landmark a contemporary public-health role without changing its cultural setting. A moai on the island was illuminated at the same time as the moai in the gardens of Museo Fonck on the Chilean mainland.

Pink lighting linked Hanga Piko and Vina del Mar

The simultaneous lighting was reported as the first time that the two monuments had been illuminated together in pink. The action connected the island and mainland communities through a shared message about prevention, early detection and access to health checks.

On Easter Island, the lighting formed the concluding moment of a consciousness-raising event at Hanga Piko. The programme was organised by Fundacion Mujer Activa and the Federation of Women for World Peace, while the wider island programme involved the Provincial Presidential Delegation and the provincial health office.

The island programme also included mammography sessions, medical checks, educational talks, a textile-reuse meeting and a prevention run. The central gathering on 19 October took place at a marae, with the lighting providing a direct visual link to the mainland ceremony.

Details of the Hanga Piko ceremony identify the venue and the participating organisations. A separate regional report described the island programme and its central gathering on 19 October.

Moai heritage shaped the meaning of the lighting

UNESCO describes the moai as enormous stone figures created between the tenth and sixteenth centuries by the society that developed Easter Island monumental sculpture. The statues form part of a wider cultural landscape of shrines, platforms and archaeological sites.

Easter Island National Park contains about 900 statues and more than 300 ceremonial platforms, according to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. The moai range from 2 m to 20 m in height and were mostly carved from yellow-brown volcanic tuff.

The setting at Hanga Piko therefore connected a current community message with a heritage tradition that UNESCO places within a protected cultural landscape. The pink illumination did not present a new monument or restoration, but used an existing moai as the focal point of a dated public event.

Easter Island National Park has been protected as a national park since 1935 and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995. CONAF, Chile’s National Forest Service, is identified by UNESCO as the park administrator, working with other heritage bodies and the local community.

UNESCO’s heritage description sets out the statues’ historical period, scale and relationship with the island’s ceremonial platforms.

Visiting Moai: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• The pink lighting took place at Hanga Piko on 19 October 2026 as part of the breast-cancer awareness programme.
• The event was a commemorative evening activity, while the reported programme did not announce a new entrance arrangement for the archaeological sites.
• Hanga Piko is on Easter Island, whose main settlement is Hanga Roa; the wider moai landscape is protected within Easter Island National Park.
• Visitors encounter statues, ceremonial platforms and volcanic terrain across the protected landscape, including figures ranging from 2 m to 20 m in height.
• Chile’s official language is Spanish and its national currency is the Chilean peso.
• Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.

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Frequently asked questions about Moai

When did the pink lighting take place at the Moai?

The island lighting took place at Hanga Piko on 19 October 2026 during the breast-cancer awareness programme.

What are the Moai on Easter Island?

They are monumental stone figures created between the tenth and sixteenth centuries as part of Easter Island’s ceremonial landscape.

Where are the Moai and how do you get there?

The statues are distributed across Easter Island, with Hanga Roa as the main settlement and Easter Island National Park protecting many archaeological sites.