Hamilton unveils its new selfie-ready sign at city hall

The city's new sign wasunveiled Friday night at a special ceremony.

Twelve companies, groups and families each contributed $25,000 toward the $300,000 project, which includedprominent home builders, hospitality companies and a steelmaker. It will cost the city about $1.50 per day to operate.

The sign was pitched as a Canada 150 project.

The city joins a growing number of cities in Canada and around the world who have installed signature signsproclaiming their name, seeing them asa combination community focus, tourism attraction and marketing symbol.

Toronto installed a similar set of letters at Nathan Phillips Square in 2015. Other cities with them include Ottawa;Lisbon,Portugal and Amsterdam, Holland.

The sign was used as the backdrop for a city hall retirement today in what was its first semi-official role.

Laura Babcock, a local public relations professional who pushed for a Hamilton sign, said already Friday, she saw someone take wedding photos in front of the sign, and someone do interpretive dance around it.

Here are some more pictures from the event:

Here's a look at some other city signs from around the world.