World Peace Bell

The World Peace Bell is an international, commemorative bell that ceremonially opened the twenty-first century at 1 January 2000 with its first swing. It is a secular bell not associated with any single group, but all mankind collectively. As such, its founding was a collaborative, international civic operation.

Its widely-broadcast dedication took place on 31 December, 1999 in the bell's permanent home of Newport, Kentucky in the hours preceding its inaugural swing. In keeping with its secular theme of world peace, the bell features an inscription invoking the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and engravings marking important events from the past thousand years.